The standards body representing the UK’s regulated betting and gaming industry says urgent action is needed by the next Prime Minister to protect the sector from catastrophic energy price hikes.
The CEO of the Betting and Gaming Council, which represents 95 per cent of the UK’s regulated betting and gaming businesses, said that bricks-and-mortar casinos and betting shops were being hit hard by soaring energy bills.
There are 6,500 betting shops on hard-pressed high streets in Britain.
Together they directly employ 44,000 people and support a further 48,000 jobs, while contributing over 4 billion dollars to the UK economy and generating over 2 billion dollars in taxes each year. There are over 3000 employees in 537 independent betting shops.
Over 200 Independent LBOs have closed in the last five years.
According to research done before the Pandemic, the majority of their customers visited at least once a week, with 89 percent of them going on to visit other shops in the area.
According to news reports, businesses are facing average increases of 300 per cent under new deals being offered.
In the last financial year, energy costs increased from £13 million to £23 million, with concerns that they could hit £46 million this year at current market prices.
He said that the cost of doing business is going up fast. Continued energy price hikes might have disastrous effects on the hotel and leisure industries, including our members, if immediate action is not done shortly.
In cities and towns across the UK, casinos are a vital pillar of the hospitality and tourism sector. They face a new crisis, just like the rest of the sector, because they are struggling to build back after the global Pandemic.
Bookmakers, which play a critical role on the UK’s hard-pressed high streets, face the same challenges. Any business which welcomes customers into a building has to deal with this energy emergency.
A range of interventions have been suggested to protect businesses and bill payers from price hikes, but no specific measures have been taken to protect the hospitality and leisure sectors.
The reforms of the betting and gaming sector are set to be outlined in a new White Paper, but this latest setback comes amid continued delays.
Summary:
The Betting and Gaming Council, which represents 95% of the UK’s regulated betting and gaming businesses, has called for urgent action to protect the hospitality and leisure sector from catastrophic energy price hikes. The CEO of the betting and gaming council said that casinos and betting shops were being hit hard by soaring energy bills, just like the rest of the sector.