UK’s largest AGC operator fury at U-turn

The desperate situation of the UK’s adult gaming centres (AGCs) – given a restart date only to have it cruelly withdrawn at the last moment – is condemned by the country’s largest operator, Luxury Leisure Talarius, which has 234 locations.

The group, trading as Admiral and part of the Novomatic ‘family’, also has six FECs and 43 Kwik Tan salons in the UK.

Commenting on the bewildering about-turn of the British authorities only 48 hours before the English AGCs were due to reopen, Tom Allison, CEO, said: “We were enormously disappointed by the government U-turn on allowing AGCs to reopen on June 15. Such a decision, especially made at the 11th hour as it was, jeopardises months of planning for our business.”

Allison points out that his team, along with the rest of the industry in England (Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own governments in varying stages of easing the lockdown), had been planning diligently to welcome customers back safely with a substantial financial commitment to do so.

“This included provision of PPE (personal protection equipment) for both customer and staff, reworking entire gaming floors for social distancing and the provision of exceptional training for our workforce. For government to withdraw this permission and leave us with no operating income is dangerous for the entire sector – the only type of business to have suffered such a deferral – especially while government has allowed the betting sector to operate freely in the same time frame.”

He said that along with the rest of the industry, he hoped that the business would be allowed to reopen on July 4 “and we can begin our lockdown recovery.” He added: “Anything less will see our sector fall further through the cracks and that will be completely unacceptable.”