Gambling operator GVC Holdings is warning investors of the financial cost of the UK’s latest pandemic lockdown, while the UK taxman is also suffering from the shutdown of retail gambling operations.

On Monday, GVC announced that it expects a negative earnings impact of £37m from the raft of COVID-19 retail shutdowns spreading across Europe. Should the current closures extend for a month, the negative impact is expected to rise to £43m. These figures include the effects of government support programs and other retail cost mitigation.  

GVC’s UK retail operations – encompassing its Coral and Ladbrokes brands – would account for £34m of this loss. Some regions of the UK had already been forced into so-called ‘Tier 3’ retail restrictions but Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced this weekend that casinos and betting shops would be required to shut nationwide as of Thursday (5) through at least December 2.

For the moment, betting shops in Scotland and Northern Ireland remain open. Betting & Gaming Council (BGC) president Michael Dugher issued a statement urging governments to take a “science-led approach and avoid the arbitrary and unnecessary decisions that led to random closures of casinos and betting shops, which damage employment and revenues to the Exchequer.”