As the current credit crunch starts to take its toll on the world economy,
the gambling industry in the United Kingdom is stepping back to count its
losses.
According to statistics released, nine UK casinos have been forced to
close their doors to their regular players during the course of 2008.
The reasons cited for these closures included a national smoking ban that
disallows players to smoke in public places of entertainment, an increase in
government taxes and a worsening economy.
Gamblers have less money to spend at the slot machines and tables, and,
combined with the fact that casinos need to dig deeper into their pockets to pay
the government more in taxation, means that some gambling establishments are
simply not considered economically viable anymore.
One of the most public casino shutdowns was the up-market Gala Coral casino
in Piccadilly Circus, London this year. Sadly, however, this is not the only
casino that Gala Coral needed to close, and the company reported that a total of
four establishments were forced to shut their doors.
Two UK casinos in Manchester and Liverpool were recently closed down by the
Malaysian owned gambling group, Genting Stanley.
Local unemployment statistics took a jump after Genting Stanley was forced to
fire 400 of its staff members because of the casino closures, and the company is
still embroiled in a trade union dispute as a result.
Speaking about the situation, the executive deputy chairman of Genting
Stanley, Peter Brooks said: "These closures, and I fear there will be more to
follow, are stark evidence of the pressures faced by the industry in the UK to
which the government has made a significant contribution, not least with last
year's large tax hike."
