Valencian Gambling Sector Suffers €129 million losses

VALENCIAN gambling sector suffers €129 million losses due to pandemic closures

The Gaming Business Council, CeJuego, the main private gaming employer in Spain, has pleaded with the Generalitat Valenciana to open gambling venues and establishments in the region, as they are currently the only ones that remain closed in all of Spain. The council has argued that the closures, already at the two-month point, threaten the future of some 133 Valencian companies, amounting to 7,000 direct jobs in the community. The sector has estimated losses of €129 million to date.

Owners of gambling institutions have argued that they should be allowed to open, even to a limited degree, since the measures were relaxed on March 15 to allow the interiors of bars and restaurants to open.

 For Alejandro Landaluce, CEO of CeJuego, “the sector is going through an extreme situation, without income and with the risk of losing more than 7,000 jobs. It is not admissible for the Generalitat to prolong the closure of the premises, being the only autonomous community with these restrictions. All our establishments have security, capacity, control and prevention measures, so the closure is not due to technical or sanitary criteria”.

The Council has requested an urgent meeting with the president of the Valencian Community, Ximo Puig, and the Minister of Health, Ana Barcelo, to discuss the seriousness of the situation and request an immediate opening to save the sector, which annually contributes around 0.45 per cent to the national GDP.

Landaluce argued that by forcing the businesses to stay closed, “the Consell is eliminating the rights and freedoms of companies in the gaming sector to carry out a legal, regulated activity that generates stable employment with very low turnover, as well as tax revenue that the Generalitat is also ceasing to enter “.

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