Genting Casinos Impacted by Closures, Considering Properties Shutdown

Genting Casinos, the operator of land-based gaming facilities across 32 locations in the UK, is mulling closing down 3 of them while applying significant reduction in the workforce for the rest, information from GMB suggests. The company’s casino properties in Torquay, Bristol and Margate are the ones on the chopping block, with an undisclosed number of jobs lost across all the other.

Gaming & Hospitality Industry Seriously Impacted

According to GMB, the union for leisure and hospitality workers, Genting Casinos has written to its employees, outlining its plans for workforce reduction, as well as property closure. The union warns that the three casinos that may eventually close will be just the start of the process for the leisure and hospitality industry in the country which has been so seriously impacted by the imposed lockdowns due to the coronavirus spread, that it was nearly brought to a breaking point.

The letter sent to the workers by Paul Willcock, the CEO of Genting Casinos, informing them about the coming changes, outlined the unprecendented challenges the company faced due to the ongoing health crisis amid the spreading virus infection. The huge financial impact on the business and the level of uncertainty regarding the foreseeable future is forcing management of the company to undertake some difficult options and implement unpopular measures to ensure the survival and long-term sustainability.

“GMB will explore every avenue with Genting to try and keep these jobs, no matter how hopeless the situation in the sector may appear. The casinos, like other leisure venues, have done their duty and complied with the lockdown, following the Prime Minister’s instructions and utilising the Government’s furlough scheme. As the scheme ends, GMB fears this is just the beginning of widespread job losses across the sector that will hit local communities hard.”

Matt Roberts, Regional Organiser, GMB Union South West

Casinos Are Yet to Re-Open

Genting Casinos operates brick-and-mortar gaming venues in London, Blackpool, Bolton, Bournemouth, Brighton, Bristol, Birmingham, Coventry, Glasgow, Leicester, Liverpool, Luton, Manchester, Margate, Newcastle, Nottingham, Plymouth, Reading, Derby, Salford, Sheffield, Southampton, Southport, Stoke, Torquay, Westcliff on Sea, Wirral and Edinburgh.

The company’s land-based gaming facilities, as well as all other casinos, closed down to comply with Prime Minister’s order and to facilitate governmental effort to contain the spread of the virus infection. Casinos in UK are scheduled to re-open July 4, with the implementation of strict safety measures.

Meanwhile, interest in online forms of gambling has hit an all-time high during the period of lockdown and the question whether there will be a permanent shift in the consumer habits is yet to be answered.

Genting Casinos UK Ltd, the operator of Genting Casinos’ land-based gaming properties in the UK, is a subsidiary of Genting Group, headquartered in Malaysia and having hospitality and gaming venues across multiple locations worldwide.