Tomorrow, the electorate of England, Scotland and Wales will head to the polls for critical local and national elections that will shed light on the faultlines running through UK politics in the wake of Britain leaving the EU and a year of the COVID-19 pandemic… The outcome of ‘Super Thursday’ results will be consequential with regards to PM Boris Johnson …
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Elite sport has been given the green light to go ahead across the UK following the government’s announcement to introduce a third lockdown. Yesterday, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced a series of measures to curb the spread of coronavirus, including the closure of schools and universities. The retail betting sector was also dealt a …
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Approximately 500 betting shops are expected to close their doors in Scotland from Friday evening when a number of local authorities will enter ‘Level Four’ restrictions. Under the measures, all non-essential shops, pubs, restaurants and all other hospitality across 11 authorities will be forced to close until 11 December as the government aims to suppress rising coronavirus cases. Announcing the …
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Casinos have outlined plans to ‘avoid catastrophic closures’ and potential job losses by offering to halt the sale of alcohol within their venues. It comes after Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement that casinos and hospitality venues across the central belt of Scotland will close their doors following a recent surge in coronavirus cases. While the measures have attracted criticism from the hospitality …
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The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has hit back at the new restrictions imposed by the Scottish government, warning that the measures ‘will come as a huge blow to casinos’. The new temporary measures, announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon yesterday, came into force at 18:00 last night, and will run until Friday 25 October. Casinos and bingo halls, in …
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The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has welcomed the decision made by the Scottish Government to reopen casinos and bingo halls from 24 August. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the latest easing of the country’s coronavirus lockdown in a statement to the Scottish Parliament, confirming that betting shops will be permitted to switch their gaming machines back on from the …
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Scottish bookmakers have warned First Minister Nicola Sturgeon that hundreds of jobs could be at risk if the government does not implement a business rates relief to help them cope with the cost of the Covid-19 pandemic. Unlike in England, Holyrood opted to exclude betting shops from its business relief scheme, which was designed to support businesses which had seen …
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The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has demanded that the Scottish Government lift ‘draconian restrictions’ that are wrecking the viability of Scottish bookmakers making a business comeback from lockdown. Closed since mid-March, Scotland’s 900 betting shops were allowed to reopen on Monday 29 June. However, Scottish National Party (SNP) ministers applied last-minute requirements demanding betting shops remove chairs and switch …
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Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon has called for a radical rethink on British society’s digital engagements and identity, which would impact the governance of UK gambling. Presenting SNP’s ‘Stronger for Scotland’ 2019 General Election manifesto, Sturgeon underlined that SNP would continue to push for the UK government to treat problem gambling as a public health matter. Despite supporting a …
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Having triggered Article 50 which begins the process of withdrawal from the European Union, the UK now enters an unprecedented cycle in its politics, with Brexit negotiations likely to dominate all political agenda and discussion. Following PM Theresa May’s official triggering of Article 50 on the 29 March, all bookmakers have updated their respective political markets as the Conservative government …
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