Guest Comment ECA President

Guest Comment Per Jaldung

and-based casinos in Europe are a

Lpiece of our shared history and heritage. Generations from all walks of life have enjoyed the wonderful hospitality and service offered within the walls of our establishments, which have become community hubs for people to gather, socialise and have fun. Casinos in Europe are a pillar of our societies and seeing them empty and desolate was a terrible shock. As terrible as having to tell your loyal and high-skilled employees that there is no more work for them. The crisis has hit the retail hospitality industry, our sector, the hardest worldwide. It caught us by surprise, and we were unprepared for the impact it would have on our lives and our businesses.

Since the start of the pandemic, the toll has been heavy. European casinos were closed for an average of 136 days in 2020, with many yet to welcome guests in 2021. As members start to open their doors for the first time in months, relieved to be working alongside their colleagues once again, they are operating under severe restrictions that cannot be maintained in the long-term. Others are still unable to greet guests as national lockdowns continue to inflict extreme hardship on our sector.

Thanks to ECA members’ strong network and high engagement in the Association’s activities, our surveys have revealed that land-based casinos lost an average of over 37 percent of regular operating days throughout 2020 due to mandated COVID-19 closures, and have experienced a fall in revenues of over 50 percent. Many casinos still do not have clear reopening schedules for 2021 and this uncertainty is not only causing distress for our businesses, but also for our employees.

Our employees are essential to us. It’s due to their diligence and hard work that customers feel loyalty to our brands and want to return again and again to our

locations. But the situation is bleak. Pre-pandemic, ECA members’ 900 European casinos employed more than 70,000 people. Post-pandemic this employment figure is estimated to fall to 50,000. The loss of so many of our colleagues, which we have worked side-by-side with for countless years, is the heaviest burden our members have to carry right now.

Simply put, this is one of the darkest times ever for our sector. The financial impact has been extreme, with a significant number of casinos closed permanently. Although we see the light at the end of the tunnel, we are still very far from business as usual.

In fact, our members’ casinos continue to be subject to restrictions that potentially discourage guests from playing with us. Reduced opening hours, maximum occupancy and amenity limitations, social distancing protocols, restricted gaming offers, protective measures including plexiglass, masks and on-site testing are just some of the hurdles that the landbased casino business is currently facing. Countryto-country variations in the restrictions have also been compounded by regional variations within national borders. These restrictions are the next major challenge for a sector that the pandemic has hit the hardest.

At this time, it is essential to make clear to policymakers that our industry is suffering, like so many others, and that we need help to recover. The European Union has drawn up a terrific tool to respond to the pandemic crisis, the Next Generation EU package. It is now the duty of our governments to allocate key investments for the recovery of our industry. Casinos are an essential part of the service and tourism sector, which has had to wait the longest to reopen and yet it is one of the sectors that people miss the most. The good news is that with vaccination programmes advancing and summer finally here, tourism is regaining its vitality and people are looking for entertainment. In the last year, we have realised how important it is to get together and have fun, and how much we miss that lighter side of life. Now we look forward to enjoying these moments again.

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