French Casinos Ready to Reopen on December 15
French Casinos Ready To Reopen On December 15
Trade union Casinos de France published a press release on Thursday, stating that the casino and entertainment industries felt secure following the advice of Prime Minister of France Jean Castex and President Emmanuel Macron that they will resume operations on December 15 and continue to operate during the holidays of Christmas and New Year.
The trade union stated in the release that reopening cultural and entertainment facilities is important for citizens' well-being and the commercial development associated with such enterprises across various regions and cities in France.
Although openings are important, they all have to be performed in line with health and safety legislation provided by government and health authorities, the trade union said. The UK is now planning to terminate the lockout across the English Channel and replace it with a staggered approach to what companies and when they will reopen.
French Casinos Follow Government Instructions
The Casinos de France trade union has operated in this direction, the press statement said, to allow casino and gaming facilities to reopen while respecting all government initiatives.
Gaming venues were among the first to take the required health and safety precautions when the COVID-19 first hit, beginning as early as June 2. These initiatives included but were not limited to regular disinfection in high-traffic environments, market protective plexiglass separators, and compulsory wearing of masks, among others.
Both these procedures are enforced as part of today's tight structure provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. With these safety precautions in place, casinos are leaving no room on their gaming floors for pollution, the statement adds.
Deeper Customer Security
The trade union said in the official statement that it is ready to go go further in ensuring protection for customers. This involves regulated access points into the casino as well as a limited limit on how many customers on the casino floors will be allowed at once.
Casinos are able to guarantee individual patrons' traceability should an outbreak occur, which they confidently insist is impossible, as well as committing to improved sanitization procedures and supporting marketing programs such as ‘TousAntiCovid’ or ‘All Against Covid’, as well as temperature sensors.
Reopenings Of The Casino Are Required
Casinos de France maintains in its declaration that reopening businesses in casinos is a must, noting the effect the sector has on the economy. The industry directly employs 15,000 people, and indirectly employs another 45,000. Every year about €1.4 billion is paid to the government in taxes, with €400 million received directly from municipalities.
Not least, the trade union noted that customers have switched to illicit casino websites because of the recent shutdowns that have proliferated in the absence of licensed gaming goods. Around the same moment, the French National Gaming Authority (Autorité Nationale des Jeux - ANJ) has been skyrocketing online gambling throughout the third quarter.
These classified portals do not have customer security policies in effect nor do they aim to curb abusive activities. Another problem with illicit websites is that they do not conduct anti-money laundering (AML) and also function as a source of criminal activity.
Allowing these activities to proceed contradicts the efforts of Casinos de France to combat those procedures that it has been collaborating closely with the relevant authorities for years to do so.
