Operator News
Spain – Catalan casinos and slot halls allowed to reopen
By Phil - 15 March 2021
Casinos, bingo halls and slot halls will be able to reopen in Catalonia following an improvement in the control of the spread of coronavirus.
These venues, which have been shut since October 31, will be able to reopen with a limitation of 30 per cent of the venue’s capacity. They will though have to shut at ten o’clock.
The move follows a meeting with executives from the Catalan Civil Protection Plan (Procicat), Alba Vergès Minister of Health, Josep Maria Argimon, Secretary of Public Health; and Miquel Sàmper, Minister of the Interior.
Sports stadiums will be able to reopen with a capacity of 50 per cent for open-air stadiums and 30 per cent in closed stadiums.
Patrojoc, welcomed the decision of the Government of Catalonia to reopen with its President Carlos Duelo saying it would allow the sector to begin to ‘breathe’ having been ‘punished by the restrictions.’ He maintains that ‘gaming establishments should have had the same consideration and treatment as other shops that have been open for weeks’ as they go ‘beyond what the authorities require of us.’
In Valencia, hospitality venues have been allowed to reopen although gaming venues have been told to remain shut.
The Federation of Leisure, Tourism, Gambling, Recreational Activities and Related Industries of the Valencian Community (FOTUR) said: “We are left lying in the gutter and leisure has been closed for a year. We are happy that our colleagues in the hospitality industry and gyms can open, but it is a comparative grievance that the sector we represent cannot do so on equal terms. You cannot keep this industry closed and without a plan to reopen. It could cause irreparable damage to our industry.”
