Genting joins in casinos reopening furore

Casino operator Genting has joined the outcry against the UK Government’s last-minute U-turn on casinos reopening.

The Malay-based company’s senior vice president of corporate insurance and regulatory affairs, Jon Duffy, of Genting UK, said: “This flies in the face of the government strategy of local lockdowns – the ‘whack-a-mole’ approach.”

He complained of a lack of warning that the projected August 1 reopening would not be allowed. “We discovered today (July 31) that we would not now be able to open the majority of our venues (in England) on August 1.

“After weeks of meticulous planning, we find it incredible that we have been given less than 24 hours’ notice on this change of plan, which in itself has caused huge damage to the business. Significant numbers of staff have been brought back from furlough to prepare for the reopening and this is devastating news for our entire team, who now face further worry and uncertainty.”

He said that every week of remaining closed was costing his company over £1.5m, which he said was not sustainable and puts jobs at risk. Duffy noted that Public Health England had already endorsed the Covid-19 measures taken by the industry and so too had the DCMS, the ministry responsible for gambling regulation.