The president of the European Casino Association, Per Jaldung, points out the dramatic situation of the European casinos, because of the closures and restrictions due to Covid-19, but he is sure that people will return to have fun and travel as soon as possible.
"Closed for Covid-19". This sign begins to be faded by time, but continues to sadly dominate the entrances of casinos across half of Europe. And Italy, unfortunately, is not an exception, given that not even May, except for unpredictable news but which would certainly be very welcome, will be the month of the reopening of the gaming sector, including casinos.
We start from this worrying fact, in the interview with
the president of the European Casino Association, Per Jaldung.
In many European countries, including Italy, governments continue to keep casinos closed. What do you think about this decision, also in reference to the fact that in Macau and Las Vegas, the casinos have reopened for a very long time?
“While we are looking forward to reopening and getting back to our normality, we fully understand our governments’ extreme caution in dealing with this situation. Nonetheless, we regret that despite our efforts to ensure a safe experience, our casinos cannot reopen, with dramatic socioeconomic consequences, affecting our employees and the whole tourism sector.
We could never have imagined after a year of the pandemic that casinos would still be shut down. Yet this is the reality, and we must face it.
Most of our members are still closed or operate under very rigorous restrictions. Some of our members have not reopened since the second lockdown, while Sweden has never reopened since March 2020. Regrettably, Europe is far behind on vaccination, especially compared to the United States or Macau, which we take as models for our reopening. In the current situation,
our members join together to show governments that casinos can reopen as they comply with the highest hygiene and safety standards. Hopefully, as vaccination proceeds, the measures will be eased, and the leisure sector will be allowed to reopen. We believe that people will return to entertainment venues and travel as soon as they can”.
Are casinos safe from a health point of view?
“Since the reopening after the first lockdown, casinos have prepared to allow customers to have the safest and most enjoyable gaming experience, and they succeeded very well. The exchange of best practices between our members proved crucial in this respect. At the same time,
Eca partners could promote the latest innovation to facilitate the reopening under the safest conditions, such as social distancing, advanced sanitisation and temperature checks. There is no doubt that casinos are ready and well equipped to guarantee the highest safety standards to all employees and customers, in line with the World Health Organisation’s latest guidelines”.
What will be the consequences of this protracted closure for companies, their properties and employees?
“The economic losses in the sector are pretty significant. Companies have been obliged to reorganise their structures and lay off staff. In Sweden, for instance, one of the four operations in the country has closed for good, with severe social and economic consequences.
Almost all European casinos have had to lay off staff or find flexible solutions. But we are confident that the worst is behind us and that a strong recovery is now on the way”.
What can local governments do to support the casino industry, and what can the Eca do instead?
“Local governments are well aware of the positive impact that tourism and leisure activities, including casinos, have on communities economically and socially. The crisis has caught policymakers off guard, forcing them to make difficult choices, but
it is high time to allow these activities to reopen as they are proved to be safe, especially in those areas where infections’ rates are low. In Austria, for instance, a “test zone” has been established in which two casinos have been able to reopen, albeit under strict measures, since March 15. In Switzerland, casinos were allowed to reopen on March 19. As the European voice of land-based casinos, the Eca has played a supportive role for its members by establishing an information exchange platform that has helped companies becoming aware of how their European colleagues were dealing with the situation, giving them the tools to engage in constructive discussions with national governments, while raising awareness on the difficulties that the industry is facing. We intend to continue our efforts in this direction”.
The closure of casinos and legal gaming in Italy has led, among the side effects, to the proliferation of illegal gaming. Has this phenomenon also occurred in Europe?
“Illegal gambling thrives when the legal offer is suppressed.
Illegal gaming has been a scourge in many European countries for a long time, and the closure of licensed land-based casino has further exacerbated the problem. This further illustrates the importance of offering players a safe space to enjoy themselves, where vulnerable players are protected, and without supporting organised crime. For this reason, we call on European governments to reopen the licensed land-based casinos as soon as possible and avoid the further proliferation of illegal gaming”.
Has the pandemic “encouraged” new business models, such as the greater use of online and live online, and new forms of work organisation?
“The pandemic has undoubtedly called into question the existing business model and its viability. Our members have had to rationalise costs; others have explored their online options. We do not exclude that more and more companies will consider the online world, although we believe that people lack real-life experience. We can now potentially do everything from home - watch movies, shopping, dine at a starred restaurant - but this will never replace a real-life experience, and after more than a year, I think that’s clear to everyone”.
Will casinos return to being places of socialising and entertainment, or will the pandemic, even when it is over, have forever changed, in whole or in part, sociability and entertainment?
“Although casinos are not essential as supermarkets and pharmacies, we are conscious of their crucial role in people’s leisure time, just as theatres, cinemas, and concerts. All these activities entertain people.
After one year of pandemic, we probably tend to forget how vital entertainment is. Leisure diverts people’s attention from their frantic daily activities, bringing happiness, and ultimately improving people’s lives. The truth is that we all miss the emotions we get from entertainment and socialising, and casinos, together with the other “nonessentials” activities, provide those emotions. We are convinced - and we also saw it when we could reopen - that people gladly return to casinos, and we are sure they will in the “aftercovid life”.
What are the main projects that will keep the Eca busy in the months to come?
“In regular times, the first half of the year is a hectic period for the Eca, with the European Dealer Championship, the Industry Forum, and various workshops and Brussels’ commitments. Unfortunately, all Eca live events were cancelled for 2021. This year, it is slightly different, but we are making use of this time to move forward with several projects.
We enhance our newly established working groups, leading projects in several areas such as marketing, responsible gambling, innovation, gender inclusion and compliance. Moreover, we are currently working on a new website designed to provide our members, stakeholders and policymakers with relevant and up-to-date information about our industry’s positions, initiatives, news, and we will also include a section to facilitate job offers/searches in the sector, which we think will be particularly useful in the post-pandemic life. Apart from that, we will keep on supporting our members and provide an open platform for exchanging information, waiting for the day when we will meet again in real life”.