The coronavirus crippled most industries but it’s safe to say that the service industries were hit the most. Scottish betting shops were not spared as they had to shut down but there’s finally light at the end of the tunnel.
After close to 4 months of inactivity, they reopened on 26th April as Scotland toned down the measures put in place to reduce the spread of COVID-19. There are almost 750 licensed betting shops and they all had to shut down from 26th december. This resulted in the loss of jobs for over 4000 people.
All Betting Shops Must Comply With the Set Regulations
Even with the reopening, all gambling shops must comply with the set restrictions. For instance, the gaming machines will not be accessible to the public and the TVs should operate on low volumes. In addition to this, their customers must adhere to the test and trace program set by the government and provide their details.
This reopening was highly influenced by England and Wales easing their covid restriction measures as the BGC approved operations for Scottish shops barely 2 weeks later. This move is aimed at getting businesses back on track and reducing the rate of job loss.
Even though the betting shops can now resume operations, casinos are still shut down and are expected to resume in June if Scotland hits level 2 of the coronavirus. The Scottish Betting and Gaming Council doesn’t seem to be in agreement with this decision as it called it ‘absurd’ and ‘not based on any logical reason’.
