With lockdowns and stay-at-home orders all across Europe and the UK, the gaming industry is set to see record losses in the coming months. One such entity that depends on gaming and betting revenues which will see huge losses in the coming days and weeks is the British Horseracing Authority or BHA.
The BHA is contemplating opening up racetracks again by the start of May and this will be discussed when the officials of the Authority meet up this month. The urgency in reopening is due to the possibility of huge losses amounting up to £193 million if the lockdown lasts until the middle of this year. This loss is due to the forced suspension of activities starting mid-March and is set to run until the end of the month.
In line with this, the BHA has put together an initiative called Resumption of Racing Group, which is a task-force that aims to find out how they can safely reopen racing events with such a pandemic raging on. In the meantime, the government has shown no signs of easing restrictions that come with the current lockdown or easing up on the lockdown itself in the near future.
The meeting that will discuss the possibility of opening up to resume races will discuss ideas like opening up only a few tracks, operating over a limited time and quarantining staff as well as sportsmen on-site for their safety. The projected amount in losses is said to be around 13% of the total yearly revenue of the sport.
