SHOP CLOSURES ‘DISASTROUS’
RACING and betting chiefs fear “disastrous” consequences as a result of betting shop closures in Tier 3 regions of Britain where the COVID-19 infection rate is at its highest.
That is their stark warning to the Government as the tightening of coronavirus lockdown measures threatens to inflict further harm on the sport.
Shops in Liverpool were forced to shut on Wednesday when the city entered Tier 3 restrictions — signifying a ‘very high risk’ of the virus — despite SAGE advice from scientific experts that High Street retail has a “very minimal impact” on the spread of the disease.
Lancashire is due to follow suit today, while Greater Manchester’s mayor Andy Burnham is currently locked in a stand-off with Downing Street over Tier 3 financial aid. “In total, well over £200million a year flows directly from the betting industry to horseracing,” said British Horseracing Authority chief executive Nick Rust in a letter written jointly with Michael Dugher (right), his opposite number at the Betting and Gaming ming Council.
“At a time when the sport is already suffering financially as a result of the ban on spectators, choking off this income stream is disastrous.” While the pair acknowledged the “huge pressure” facing mministers to combat COVID-19, they urged the government: “Take an evidence-led approach to the crisis, rarather than one that too often looks like it is being made up as we go along and where ‘optics’ trump the science. The clue is in the name: betting shops are shops.
“And, just like other types of retail, they should be allowed to remain open, while of course continuing to observe the necessary antiCOVID measures.
“The British Horseracing Authority is under no illusions as to what’s at stake.
“For the sake of our industry’s long-term future, it is absolutely vital that government listens.”