The Betting and Gaming Council or simply the BGC is the single industry organization for gaming and betting which today represents online casino gaming venues, online sports betting venues, betting shops as well as other businesses of this kind. Members of the Betting and Gaming Council association come from the United Kingdom gaming and betting industry which in the United Kingdom employs 70,000 individuals as well as contributes with over £14 billion to the United Kingdom economy.

As listed on the official website of the Betting and Gaming Council association, one of the major business missions of the association is to champion casino gaming and betting industry standards in order to ensure enjoyable, safe, and fair gaming and betting experience for all individuals. Today, the Betting and Gaming Council association in the United Kingdom sets the highest standards in the industry.

The association is also focused on building both institutional and public trust in the United Kingdom gambling and betting industry through its codes of practice and codes of conduct which are crafted carefully to ensure everyone is treated equally and everyone is offered safe, fare and enjoyable betting and gambling activities.

England Casinos to Reopen on the 1st of August

The United Kingdom Prime Minister has just recently announced that casino venues located in England can finally reopen and resume their operations on the 1^st of August following a long period of four months of these venues being temporarily shuttered down due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Commenting on the news, officials at the Betting and Gaming council said that they are delighted for England casinos which can finally reopen since this will provide a major tourism boost to all hospitality industries.

Nonetheless, the Betting and Gaming Council also calls for the Welsh and Scottish casino venues to reopen as over two thousand employees in the industry are affected by the four-month shutdown. When it comes to casino venues located in England, they employ over 12,000 locals as well as provide millions in taxes. Needless to say, casinos in England also contribute greatly to the region’s tourism economy, so there is no wonder why the UK government wants to get these facilities up and running as soon as the situation allows.

Strict Coronavirus-Induced Measures and Guidelines

Before the United Kingdom Prime Minister announced that casinos in England will reopen on the 1^st of August, the Betting and Gaming Council association has been working very hard to get land-based casinos back in the game especially after England bingo halls and betting shops reopened. Needless to say, casinos in England which will open their doors to the public after four months will have to follow strict coronavirus-induced guidelines in order to ensure that both employees and players remain safe and protected.

Commenting on the long-awaited reopening process, the Betting and Gaming Council’s Chief Executive Officer Michael Dugher said that after four months of mandatory lockdown, it is super exciting to finally see casinos reopen on the 1^st of August. He also added that these venues will play one of the most important parts in the recovery of the UK’s hospitality and tourism industries. Since the UK casino venues employ thousands of individuals, the Betting and Gaming Council association wants to see the same reopening action in Wales and Scotland as the uncertainty is never good for work staff.

The former Portuguese enclave, Macau boasts one of the most profitable casino gambling industries in the world with billions made yearly. However, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Macau gambling industry has come across serious obstacles and challenges. As reported by several local news outlets, the negative impacts of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic will very soon prompt the six fully licensed and regulated casino operators to reveal their combined deficits in earnings for the second quarter.

According to the company’s officials, their combined deficits in earnings before amortization, depreciation, interest, and taxes went over $1 billion which is a massive loss. As revealed by Inside Asian Gaming, the forecast was made by the Morgan Stanley brokerage and investment company concerning the financial results from the major Macau casino operators. These include Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited, SJM Holdings Limited, MGM China Holdings Limited, Sands China Limited, Galaxy Entertainment Group Limited, Wynn Resorts Limited, and Wynn Macau Limited.

Re-Opened Macau Casinos Struggling to Attract Customers

Back on the 4^th of February, the government of Macau decided to shutter every one of those thirty-nine commercial casinos in Macau due to the rising numbers of coronavirus infections in the country. The Macau casinos just recently re-opened, but they have been struggling to attract customers mainly due to social distancing, travel restrictions, and other safety and protection measures that are still in place.

After over two months of being closed, the Macau casinos can only expect negative financial results for the previous period alongside other negative consequences of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic which will last for months to come.  The Morgan Stanley brokerage and investment company’s main analysts Praveen Choudhary and Gareth Leung recently revealed that those six major casino operators in Macau are expected to record combined second-quarter deficits in earnings before amortization, depreciation, taxes and interested of around $1.04 billion.

According to the same analysts, the casino operator with the biggest financial losses and deficits in earnings is the Sands China Limited company with a massive shortfall of $286 million. According to Praveen Choudhary and Gareth Leung from Morgan Stanley, another company with a similar deficit of around $205 is Melco Resorts and Entertainment. According to the pair, the Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited is about to record the worst financial result for the three last three-month period when it comes to the local casino gambling industry.

Reducing Operational Expenses

Nonetheless, both Praveen Choudhary and Gareth Leung proclaimed that these rather devastating financial results from the six Macau casino operators could also provide an important glimpse into the operators’ current operational expenses alongside other important information such as which operators had managed to reduce some of their operational costs and which portions of the expected cut remains sustainable in the longer run.

The pair also clarified that the latest financial information on the aggregated deficits in earnings for the six Macau casino operators also revealed which casino operators had been able to better manage their rising operational expenses alongside the aggregated daily rate which as estimated recent dropped by around 21% on a yearly basis to hit only around $15 million. The pair’s official statement also reads that Macau casino gambling stocks increased by around 21% in the latest quarter so they believe that the worst is behind the Macau casino operators.

The former Portuguese enclave Macau is home to many of the world’s most iconic land-based casino venues such as the Venetian Macau venue, The Plaza Macao, Casino Babylon Macau, and more. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic which has directly caused many financial and social disruptions across the globe, the Macau casino industry has seen rather disappointing gross gaming revenues not only in May but also in March and April.

Travel restrictions that were implemented by the Chinese government to combat the spread of the highly-contagious coronavirus were largely to blame for disappointing gross gaming revenues of Macau casinos. As revealed by several local news outlets, Macau casinos recorded a massive 93.2% decrease in its net gross gaming revenues that hit only $220.9 million for the month of May.

According to reports released by Inside Asian Gaming and GGRAsia, official figures from the former Portuguese enclave’s gaming entity the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau show that aggregated gross gaming revenues for May represent the second consecutive month in that Macau casinos had chalked up a comparable diminution of over 90%. Back in April, Macau casinos had chalked up a decline of 96.8% in gross gaming revenues which hit only $94 million.

Growing Daily Deficits

According to the same local sources, the most recent figure on the industry’s gross gaming revenues of Macau casinos showed that those thirty-nine casinos in the area have logged gross gaming revenues worth around $4.1 billion since the beginning of 2020. These rather disappointing figures represent a massive drop of 73.7% when compared to the industry’s aggregated gross gaming revenues of the same five-month period last year when the thirty-nine Macau casinos made around $15.7 billion.

What makes things even worse for the Macau casino gambling industry and its thirty-nine casinos active in the region is the industry’s growing daily deficits. According to Sanford C Bernstein Limited which is a prominent brokerage company, the industry’s comparable daily net gross gaming revenues for the month of May fell into another negative territory especially from the 18^th of May due to diminishing player bases and hold volatilities. The same brokerage institution also proclaimed that the most likely one-month-long median of around $7.1 million was around 126% lower when compared to those month-long medians of March and April.

Other Troubles for Casino Owners

The casino industry in Macau is also facing many other troubles that could not be avoided. As previously mentioned, the former Portuguese enclave is home to some of the most iconic casinos in the world such as the Casino Grand Lisboa venue. The city is also home to over 632,000 citizens. It has recorded its very first official infection with coronavirus back on the 22^nd of January.

With growing numbers of daily coronavirus infections, the government was forced to temporarily shutter all of those thirty-nine Macau casinos and the decision was made on the 4^th of February.  Even though all of the thirty-nine casinos in Macau partially re-opened on the 20^th of February after only forty-five coronavirus infections recorded, there are many travel restrictions still in place.

For instance, individuals who are traveling between Macau and Hong Kong or mainland China have to undergo fourteen days of quarantine. This means that the former Portuguese enclave was cut off from many of its regular gamblers who come from Hong Kong and mainland China back in March when the government decided to postpone its IVS or Individual Visit Scheme. This scheme allows tourists from forty-nine communities to come to Macau without being required to travel within a tour group.

Looking ahead, land-based casinos in Macau could easily recover from the negative consequences of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic once all travel restrictions are lifted. It was also reported that the very first department of Macau casinos to recover will most likely be its VIP Business.

Even though Macau-based casino-operating companies recorded a massive 80% drop in gross gaming revenues for March, they will not get financial support, at least not yet. As reported by several news outlets, the casino operators responsible for thirty-nine casino facilities in Macau are excluded from a $1.7 billion-worth economic stimulus program which was crafted by the government with the main goal to help struggling business and companies during these difficult times with the coronavirus pandemic ravaging across the globe

According to one report released by Inside Asian Gaming, the former Portuguese enclave’s government just recently declares that the new economic stimulus program has been carefully crafted to help companies as well as Macau residents with sustaining employment in the area as well as with stimulating local demands following the global financial downturn directly caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

As estimated on the 14^th of April, there are more than 1.9 million cases of COVID-19 infections around the world while COVID-19 resulted in more than 119,000 deaths globally. At the same time, more than 453,000 infected individuals have recovered. The fatality rate was set at four percent in China, while it varies significantly across countries. The coronavirus pandemic had led to worldwide socioeconomic disruptions and it has affected every single industry in the world including the land-based casino industry.

Economic Stimulus Program Aimed at Small to Medium-Sized Companies

It was also reported by Inside Asian Gaming that the newly-designed economic stimulus program by the government of Macau is aimed to help small to medium-sized business ventures and companies. As estimated, the economic stimulus program is worth around $1.2 in addition to $450 million included as electric vouchers to help local residents. Each of these electric coupons for local residents is set to be valued at $626 and residents will be able to use it to purchase a variety of services and products excluding things such as telephone bills and utility.

Before this economic stimulus program emerged, residents of Macau received very similar electronic vouchers worth around $375 individually back in February as Macau struggled greatly with its coronavirus outbreak which eventually led to all Macau thirty-nine casinos to shut down their operations for a fifteen-day period which was extended later on.

Back to the latest economic stimulus plan, it will also see around 260,000 locals Macau employees gifted with a valuable cash subsidy of between $1,878 and $25,000. This support will be available for every one of Macau’s 40,000 small and medium-sized companies and business ventures. At the same time, Macau casino operators are not included in this new economic stimulus program.

Macau Finance and Economy Secretary Reacting to Criticism

Macau’s Finance and Economy Secretary Lei Wai Nong reacted to great criticism concerning that the brand-new economic stimulus program excludes Macau casino operators. Lei Wai Nong said that the Macau government is extremely appreciative of casino operators in the area for not laying off their employees and for sustaining their lives.

Nonetheless, he also added that Macau casino operators had accumulated great profits over the years and in the past months which gives them the ability to sustain employment and maintain operational once the coronavirus crisis passes. He concluded this official press release by saying that Macau’s government is and will be tilted in favor of small and medium-sized businesses, Macau residents and employees and he hopes that Macau casino operators understand their standing.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic which as of the 6^th of April is present in over two hundred countries, casino facilities located in Singapore are the latest ones to shut down their operations temporarily. This news came shortly after the government of Singapore had ordered the state’s two integrated casino resorts to shut down their operations at least for thirty days as the government is working on stepping up its efforts to prevent spreading of a coronavirus pandemic which according to the latest reports have killed six residents of the state.

Globally looking, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic resulted in over 74,800 deaths while over 277, 000 infected individuals have recovered. At the same time, there are more than 1.34 million cases of infections recorded around the globe. Efforts taken by governments in order to prevent the coronavirus spread include quarantines, travel restrictions, curfews as well as event cancellations and postponements, hazard controls at workplaces and facility closures and this includes casino venues operating across the globe.

Resorts World Sentosa Closing Its Casino and Suspending Hotel Reservations

As the government of Singapore ordered the state city’s gambling and entertainment facilities to shut down their operations until at least the 4^th of May, the iconic Resorts World Sentosa venue and even bigger Marina Bay Sands will be shuttered. At the same time, the nation of over 5.7 million residents has also temporarily closed workplaces which are non-essential while the government has instituted that everyone is homeschooled.

The Resorts World Sentosa facility opened its doors ten years ago on the 20^th of January. It is located on the Sentosa island and operated by Genting Group. Some of the key attractions of the Resorts World Sentosa venue include its two casinos, a massive theme park Universal Studios, and many others. The venue’s officials issued an official statement several days ago to reveal that the facility’s casino floor will be closed for at least four weeks.

The venue’s officials also said that restaurant and hotel reservations are also temporarily suspended as ordered by the state’s government. The officials also added that the venue’s beverage and food outlets which support daily living needs will remain open for deliveries and takeaway. At the same time, those non-gaming operations including the resort’s Adventure Cove Waterpark and Universal Studios Singapore attractions were also decommissioned.

Marina Bay Sands Following the Same Steps

Owned and operated by Las Vegas Sands, Marina Bay Sands is one of the biggest integrated casino and hotel resorts in Asia. The resort opened its doors ten years ago on the 27^th of April in 2010. At the time of its opening, Marina Bay Sands was billed as the most expensive casino property in the world valued at $5.88 billion. The property includes a hotel area with over two thousand and five hundred rooms alongside a convention center, museum, two theatres, a mall and of course, a massive casino floor with five hundred gaming tables and over one thousand and six hundred slots machines.

For its part, officials at Marina Bay Sands issued a very similar press release in which they informed all interested patrons that its casino floor will remain shut for at least thirty days. The officials also said that other resort operations and services will be also closed while all restaurant and hotel bookings are canceled while guests will get their money back. Before these closure measures, the state-city had already banned foreign visitors while two integrated casino resorts were ordered to institute safety and protection measures including safe-distancing and limiting the number of visitors and players allowed to gamble at their casinos.

Local authorities in Macau have instituted a series of measures which will help the authorities insulate the area from the outbreak of a coronavirus which has so far claimed over eighty lives in China while almost three thousand people are infected. According to one report released by The Straits Times newspaper, this previously unknown, highly-infectious virus was first reported in the city of Wuhan late in December last year.

This highly-infectious virus causes infected victims to develop symptoms that are very similar to pneumonia including breathing difficulties, coughs, shortness of breath and fever. 2019 Novel Coronavirus, also known as 2019-nCoV, belongs to a coronavirus strain which was identified as the cause of the most recent outbreak of severe respiratory problems. Early on, many of the victims in the outbreak in the city of Wuhan had some connection to a massive animal and seafood market in this city which suggests animal-to-human spread.

Nonetheless, a growing number of victims of the virus have not had any exposure to these seafood and animal markets which indicates that the spread of the virus from a person to a person is also occurring. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC, the most recent virus outbreak in China is closely monitored. The outbreak has resulted in almost three thousand confirmed cases and this number is rapidly growing with confirmed cases found outside of China including the United States, Japan, Australia, and several other international locations.

Previous Measures Employed in Macau

As reported two weeks ago, health officials in the Macau Special Administrative Region have taken certain steps to combat the most recent outbreak including installing body temperature monitors at certain public spaces including entry points at land-based casinos in the area as well as entry points at the Portas do Cerco border and Macau Ferry Terminal.

With the count of infected individuals growing every day, Macau health officials have decided to fight this outbreak by employing a series of further measures besides installing body temperature monitors. According to the area’s health officials, the staff at every one of Macau’s forty casinos must wear protective face masks. Moreover, the staff at casinos in the area also must institute schemes that require every single arriving visitor to provide information for a health declaration form.

Authorities in the area have also revealed that they will more regularly clean different public spaces such as bus stops and taxi stops alongside other measures including installing body temperature monitors. As reported by The Straits Times newspaper, the new measures were revealed shortly after Macau identified its very first victim of the most recent virus outbreak.

The identified victim is a fifty-two-year-old businesswoman who had visited Wuhan several days ago via train. It was also revealed that the virus victim has stayed at the Macau New Orient Landmark Hotel with two friends who were admitted to a nearby hospital to undergo necessary treatment.

Global Consequences and Danger

Macau’s Social Affairs and Culture Secretary Ao Ieong Iu said to The Straits Times newspaper that Macau experienced a massive increase in tourists over the weekend due to Chinese New Year celebrations which surely puts in danger millions. Ao Ieong also said that visitors from Wuhan are not banned, but everyone should be cautious. So far, almost three thousand individuals are affected across China with several cases identified in the USA, Thailand, Australia, France and Austria which makes the virus a global threat.

The Philippines is home to some of the most iconic hotel and casino resorts in Asia. As reported recently, some of casino land is offered up for grabs. As revealed by several local news outlets, the state-owned casino and hotel operator in the state is looking forward to making around $8 million by selling three land parcels that it owns in central Luzon. Luzon is the most populous as well as the biggest Philippines island which is also the fifteenth biggest island in the world by its land area.

The island of Luzon is located in the northern area of the Philippines archipelago. It serves as both political and economic center of the whole nation which is not surprising considering that the country’s most populous Quezon City, as well as its capital Manilla, are both located here. When it comes to the country’s casino industry, some of the Luzon-based casino lands are just offered up for sale as reported by the Asia Gaming Brief news outlet.

The PAGCor Eager to Attract Bids for Three Parcels

According to this report, the PAGCor or the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation has already put a $7.7 million price on a 175,828 square feet land plot located in Santa Rosa. It was also reported that the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation has also attached a $250K-worth valuation to a 34,972 square feet land plot located in the nearby Dasmarinas.

As if these upcoming sales are not enough, the country’s gaming regulator is also extremely eager to sell off 160,263 square feet parcel for at least $53,100 which it owns in the city of Paranaque. As revealed by the regulator’s officials, all sales related to these land parcels will be conducted on a cash basis. The Asia Gaming Brief news outlet also shared that individuals interested in purchasing these parcels must be the country’s citizens even though corporate buyers are also allowed to have up to forty percent of their capital in the country managed by some international, offshore entities.

Moreover, the country’s regulator PAGCor stipulated that purchasing any of these land parcels is not set to confer their new owners with any kind of the right to build and operate casinos or any related business including those related to the iGaming industry. In other words, a license to build and operate any kind of gaming operations or a casino license does not come as part of the sale deal for the three parcels. For this reason, the winning bidder of those properties will not have the necessary rights nor the necessary authority to construct and operate a casino venue or any other gaming operation.

The PAGCor Sale from June 2018

The same news outlet which shared the news about the regulator selling off three casino parcels also mentioned that the PAGCor conducted a similar sale in June last year. This action, in particular, had involved almost 40 acres of land situated within the Manilla’s Entertainment City area.

Once this land parcel was offered up for sale, the Sureste Properties Incorporated of the Bloomberry Resorts Corporation was quick to pay for the land around $717 million. The paid price included the combined tracts so that the new owner of the land can enjoy the benefits and attractiveness of the Solaire Resort and Casino venue which features eight hundred rooms alongside other amenities.