UK Chancellor urged to modernize payment rules to protect top casinos from closure

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has urged UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak to take decisive action to secure the future of some of the UK’s top casinos by modernizing current payment regulations. 

The industry standards body said in a release Thursday that 8 high-end venues in London face “having to close their doors for good at the end of this year without an urgent change to outdated legislation.” They include big name establishments such as Les Ambassadeurs Club, Crown Aspinalls London and Crockfords Club. Combined, they employ 1,350 workers and they contribute around £150m a year in tax to the Treasury, as well as generating £188m for London’s GDP and at least £120m in additional tourism spend in the capital.

Michael Dugher, chief executive of the BGC, has written to Sunak calling on the Government to “act swiftly” to protect the casinos from closure and help London drive the UK’s economy recovery following the Covid-19 lockdown.

Casinos across England reopened again on 15 August following the Covid-19 lockdown. But the BGC warns that the eight high-end venues are set to remain shuttered at risk of permanent closure unless the Government modernises the law, which effectively forces big spenders visiting the UK to use cheques in order to be able to play.

Processing those cheques has become “increasingly expensive and outdated,” according to the BGC, and the casinos have called on the Chancellor to let them provide a fully-regulated funds advance facility to players from abroad, to enable them to settle with one transaction at the end of their trip – something they are currently barred from doing. “An easy and minor amendment to Section 81 of the Gambling Act 2005 would allow this to happen and replace outdated cheque transactions, a payment method that is all but assigned to the history books,” the standards body says.

“It is now essential that the Chancellor acts swiftly to facilitate this small change, which would have a massive impact on the ability of high end casinos to re-open again and to recover their business,” Dugher said. “Cheques are a 20th century payment instrument that is no longer fit for the 21st century customer or the global banking environment but there has to be a suitable replacement for those businesses that, through outdated law, are unable to transact with their customers any other way.”

“Our high end casinos are major ingredient in London’s reputation as a ‘go-to’ destination for high spending foreign tourists. This can all help to get the U.K. economy moving again,” BGC CEO concluded.