Massachusetts casinos to remain closed

Gambling venues in the state to remain closed until at least May 18 as part of Covid-19 lockdown measures.

US.- The state of Massachusetts will keep its casinos closed for an extended period due to the Coronavirus pandemic preventing certain businesses from opening.

Massachusetts Governor, Charlie Baker, has announced that the non-essential business closure in the state would extend until at least May 18, affecting all casinos.

The state’s casinos have been closed since March, which will mean two months without welcoming players.

Towards the end of April, regulators met to discuss ways of which casinos could reopen in a safe environment.

They were said to have been looking to Macau (China) for what measures should or could be put in place to protect the public.

Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chairwoman, Cathy Judd-Stein said: “The timeline to reopen is still uncertain; however, our attention is now focused on developing a responsible restart plan and maximising this time to establish guidelines, in coordination and collaboration with key stakeholders, including the three licensees, state and local leaders, and public health officials.

“We will leverage our internal expertise and lessons learned from other jurisdictions.  Additionally, we will closely monitor guidance under development by the Governor’s Reopening Advisory Board.”