Manchester betting shops forced to close from Friday under Tier 3 restrictions

Betting shops and casinos in Greater Manchester will be forced to close from Friday after the area was moved into a Tier 3 lockdown by prime minister Boris Johnson.

The tighter restrictions will be imposed after the government and local authorities failed to agree on a package of financial support for the region.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said ministers had "walked away" from the talks after refusing to offer the £65 million wanted as a business bailout package for the city to enter a Tier 3 lockdown.

Johnson said "casinos, bingo halls, betting shops and soft-play areas" would close under the restrictions which are already in place in neighbouring Liverpool and Lancashire.

Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) chief executive Michael Dugher has written to business secretary Alok Sharma calling for his department to intervene over the closure of betting shops under Tier 3, labelling the restrictions as being "anti-gambling industry".

The BGC said 400 betting shops and 12 casinos, employing 3,000 people, would be shut in the wake of the escalation in the restrictions.

In a strongly worded letter Dugher described the order to close betting shops and casinos as "ill-informed and arbitrary", citing a lack of evidence that they contribute to the spread of Covid-19, and argued putting tens of thousands of jobs in the industry at risk was "unfair and unnecessary".

Dugher's letter to the business secretary came in response to the inclusion of betting shops among those businesses that have to close in areas placed under Tier 3 restrictions, despite having stringent anti-Covid-19 measures in place.

Betting and Gaming Council chief executive Michael Dugher

The BGC revealed it has also written to local leaders in Tier 2 areas for support of the industry should they face an escalation in restrictions.

In his letter to Sharma, Dugher said: "There are currently just over 6,700 shops employing nearly 40,000 staff across the country, the majority of which are female.

"The singling out of betting shops for closure is unfair, unnecessary and runs counter to the sensible approach the government had previously adopted. This decision looks ill-informed, arbitrary, and along with plans to close Covid-secure casinos [that had offered to give up selling alcohol] it frankly looks anti-gambling industry.

"It will have a hugely negative impact on our businesses and staff, despite their efforts to ensure a very safe environment for customers that is well beyond any other non-essential retail business.

"I therefore would like to ask for your support to intervene on behalf of betting shops, an important part of high street retail and an industry that contributes over £3 billion in tax every year.

"I share 100 per cent the government’s determination to tackle the spread of Covid. The decision to close betting shops won’t help with that, but it does put in jeopardy an industry that will be much-needed to help power the economy and the Exchequer to recovery."

Burnham, who has been at loggerheads with ministers over compensation for Greater Manchester in the event of Tier 3 restrictions, said: "Let's be clear who is most affected by a Tier 3 lockdown – it is people working in pubs, in bookies, driving taxis. People too often forgotten by those in power."

Betting shops in Wales received a fresh blow on Monday when a circuit-breaker lockdown was announced, forcing the closure of the country's 366 betting shops from 6pm on Friday until November 9, a period of 17 days.

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