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BGC Warns Permanent Industry Damage Following Delay in Casino Reopening

Published

6 years ago

August 4, 2020

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has warned that the UK Government’s last-minute reversal of plans to allow casinos to reopen on August 1 has dealt a wrecking ball to the industry, from which it may never recover.

The casino sector employs more than 14,000 people across the UK in 125 casinos and a further 4000 in the supply chain. Casinos also paid over £300 million each year in tax before the lockdown.

With casinos across England forced to remain shuttered, the BGC warns that up to 6000 jobs may be permanently lost.

In a letter to Chancellor Rishi Sunak MP on July 31, BGC described the decision to keep casinos closed as “highly illogical, inconsistent and deeply damaging to those businesses and the thousands of staff they employ.”

BGC has also rejected the Prime Minister’s categorisation of casinos as “higher risk” during his Downing Street briefing. Casinos have spent weeks and invested millions of pounds to ensure their premises are covid-secure, with measures such as perspex screens, sanitisation equipment and sophisticated track and trace systems, as well as introducing strict social distancing measures and hygiene protocols.

BGC Chief Executive Michael Dugher said: “The Government are swinging a wrecking ball right through the middle of our industry and large scale job losses, which ought to be unnecessary and avoidable, now look inevitable unless ministers act fast.”

“Casinos are a small but fundamental part of our leisure, hospitality, entertainment and tourism industry. They employ over 14,000 people across the UK and indirectly support another 4,000 jobs in the supply sector, and last year casinos paid over £5.7 million in tax per week.

“The ongoing cost of remaining in a holding pattern to reopen is clearly not sustainable, with more jobs and livelihoods being put at risk with every last minute change and delay to reopening.

“The Job Retention Scheme has helped but our members will now be forced to pay National Insurance and pension contributions on top of salaries in August while they remain closed. As furlough payments are phased out, there will be no flexibility for casinos to adapt to the new working and leisure environment and I now fear that many thousands of jobs could be lost.

“We made the all necessary preparations for safe reopening and we were given the green light by Public Health England on the basis of the significant investment made by operators, and having been told by the Government themselves that casinos posed a ‘negligible’ risk compared with the tens of thousands of other places that they have been reopened.”

Latest News

Bettormetrics publishes World Cup trading benchmark; Tipico leads uptime ranking

Published

3 hours ago

June 4, 2026

Wladimir P.

bettormetrics-publishes-world-cup-trading-benchmark;-tipico-leads-uptime-ranking

Study of 1,752 Big 5 league matches finds a 12-point uptime gap; live World Cup leaderboard to run during the tournament.

Bettormetrics has launched what it calls the first World Cup Trading Performance Benchmark, ranking sportsbooks on in-play market uptime ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The sports odds intelligence firm said it will publish a live World Cup leaderboard on its website during the tournament to track trading performance.

The benchmark measures operator uptime on the Total Goals market across 1,752 fixtures in the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1. Bettormetrics analysed 22 operators and published a Top 10, reporting a gap of more than 12 percentage points between the highest and lowest performers.

Tipico ranked first overall with 95.9% uptime, followed by Fanatics (95.3%) and Betsson (94.9%). Superbet (94.8%) and Betano (94.7%) rounded out the top five. Bettormetrics said Premier League fixtures generally delivered the highest availability across operators, while La Liga was “the key differentiator” and “consistently produced the lowest availability figures across the field.”

The results also highlighted regional shifts. Bettormetrics noted that none of bet365, William Hill, Ladbrokes or Paddy Power made the Top 10, while Fanatics placed second overall as the highest-ranked US operator. It also flagged Pinnacle and SBOBET as ranking poorly on in-play availability in this analysis despite “strong reputations for pregame pricing and market depth.”

Sabin Brooks, CEO of Bettormetrics, said: “The World Cup represents one of the highest-risk and highest-opportunity periods in the sportsbook calendar. Small differences in uptime, trading performance and market availability can have a material impact on turnover, profitability and even reputation.

“The World Cup leaderboard will answer one simple question: which sportsbook performed best when it matters most?”

The post Bettormetrics publishes World Cup trading benchmark; Tipico leads uptime ranking appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

GoldenRace

GoldenRace to showcase V5 mobile betting solution at Peru Gaming Show 2026

Published

5 hours ago

June 4, 2026

Wladimir P.

goldenrace-to-showcase-v5-mobile-betting-solution-at-peru-gaming-show-2026

GoldenRace will exhibit at Peru Gaming Show 2026 at the Centro de Exposiciones Jockey in Lima on 17-18 June, where it plans to showcase its new V5 mobile solution, according to the supplier.

The company said the V5 delivery focuses on performance and operator control, with a unified UI/UX built around “ultra-fast performance”, “total brand authority” through customisation, and “intuitive navigation”, including a “one-click hybrid toggle” to access markets.

GoldenRace also plans to highlight its Hit&Win games, including Arcade Heist—“recently crowned with the Game Innovation Award at the SiGMA Africa Awards 2026”—and Fortune Fighters, which the company said is built to run on the V5 infrastructure.

Other products listed for the stand include In-shop Mobile, a retail feature that enables customers to bet on their own devices while in-store, plus virtual Greyhound and Horse Racing content.

The supplier said it will also feature products from other group brands at the show: Spinmatic, Novusbet and Xpress Tech. GoldenRace said attendees can meet the team at stands 11-14.

The post GoldenRace to showcase V5 mobile betting solution at Peru Gaming Show 2026 appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

betcore

BetOnGames launches Cricket Strike Crash for its crash games portfolio

Published

6 hours ago

June 4, 2026

Wladimir P.

betongames-launches-cricket-strike-crash-for-its-crash-games-portfolio

BetOnGames, the instant games vertical of the BETCORE ecosystem, has launched Cricket Strike Crash, a sports-themed crash game, the company said on June 4, 2026.

Cricket Strike Crash uses a real-time multiplier that increases while the round continues, with players choosing when to cash out before the crash. BetOnGames positions the title for fast-cycle play and mobile-first sessions.

The game ships with a stated RTP of 97.5% and medium volatility. BetOnGames also says Cricket Strike Crash uses a “provably fair system” designed to provide transparency on outcomes.

Cricket Strike Crash joins BetOnGames’ wider instant games catalogue within BETCORE, alongside TVBET and ElCasino. The group offers operators access to crash games, instant win games and slots via a single B2B integration, according to the company.

A product video is available here.

The post BetOnGames launches Cricket Strike Crash for its crash games portfolio appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.