Betting shops in England will be opening from June 15 (Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are to open later) but what will they look like for those punters entering the premises?
It will certainly have social distancing but what exactly?
According to reports in The Times newspaper one of the major moves by companies that run the majority of betting retail such as William Hill, Flutter Entertainment and GVC, is that contactless payment will be pushed hard for customers to use.
This is however going to be extremely difficult as some 90% of shop gamblers use cash.
Also betting slips will be a thing of the past as staff will accept a verbal bet from customers over the counter and then repeated back to the customer for confirmation. Or they will be offered to use the electronic betting stations.
A limit on the number of customers in the shop at one time will also be enforced with even an electronic door security being used. Other moves to ensure safety is that all furniture will be removed to reduce possible contamination.
That is hoped that gamblers will then not stay in the betting shop longer than necessary to allow other punters inside. Hand sanitiser stations will be available throughout all betting shops. Also plastic screens will be installed between gaming machines and counter staff.
One thing all operators will agree to is the restriction on betting promotions, most if not all betting shops will carry posters announcing the shop is open and welcome back, not special offers on betting with the resumption of the Premier league football and also Royal Ascot soon.
It is a major shift in the way customers will experience betting shops as many gamblers stay and watch their bet win or lose and share their fortunes with friends inside the betting shop.
All operators are concerned about the return of gamblers to their retail businesses, it is clear there will be a cautious return by gamblers and the new restrictions on those gamblers when they enter what many look upon as a social pastime.
