English betting shops to reopen in April

Betting shops will reopen in April and casinos and bingo halls on May 17 under Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan.

UK.- The British prime minister Boris Johnson has announced his “roadmap out of lockdown” with a timetable for easing Covid-19 countermeasures as the country advances with vaccinations.

The timetable set out by the prime minister features four stages for the reopening of different kinds of businesses starting from March 8. 

Betting shops in England are expected to be allowed to reopen in the second stage, which is scheduled to begin on April 12. Casinos, bingo halls and adult gaming centres will open in the third stage from May 17.

The Betting and Gaming Council had called for betting shops and casinos to be allowed to reopen at the same time as similar businesses.

Gaming venues were forced to wait longer to reopen from the UK’s initial lockdown, with several delays.

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Johnson said that the dates for each of the stages were subject to change depending on the spread of Covid-19 cases.

A five-week interval will be maintained between each stage, so if stage one begins any later than March 8, the subsequent stages will be pushed back by the same amount of time.

However, this time the reopening of the economy would be definitive, Johnson said, describing the roadmap as a “one-way” road.

Johnson’s timetable applies only to England but the governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are looking into similar plans to lift restrictions.

All gambling venues in the UK have been closed since January 5 but many have been closed for longer due to tiered regional restrictions.