Post-Brexit will impact the local casino industry

Brexit has come and the UK has finally left the EU. This is the major step from the UK’s side and without any doubt, it will cause a lot of changes and trigger challenges fro the country in the future.

The UK has already been changing certain laws and regulations in many fields. The law regarding the workforce and citizenship was introduced to the public. Many experts have pointed out their own concerns and opinions regarding the subject. They say that the new laws will necessarily affect one of the major industries in the country, the gambling industry.

Immigration was one of the key points for the Brexit. The UK was not in favor of the immigration policy introduced by the EU. The country already has a lot of immigrants and thus sees the need for certain regulations. The UK immigration law will damage the casino sector as well as other parts of the UK economy. The representatives of the Betting and Gaming Council of the UK said that the new law will especially affect the casino workers.

The new law will come into force after the UK’s full departure from the European Union next year. The new law is very strict towards the immigrants. The major part of the casino workers is local immigrants, working for the already quite low wages.

Under Regulations

“Point System” is the new regulation introduced by the BGC. The system includes awarding points based on meeting certain criteria. The criteria include a set of skills, qualification and the ability to speak English. Those are the major points for immigrant workers to be able to occupy the spot in any company in the UK.

But according to the BGC, many of the foreign workers that account for 70 % of casino staff in the UK would not meet the new standards to qualify to work. The total amount of points scored by the applicants will be 70. Certain circumstances can contribute to scoring the points.

If the applicants have the job offer from an “approved employers” at an “appropriate skill level”, this will grant the applicant 50 points straight away. Though, despite this, scoring 70 points will not be an easy job.

A Ph.D., for example, will only get you an extra ten points, although it’s double that if your doctorate is in a STEM subject (science, technology, engineering, or math).

Croupiers will be the main target 

According to the Betting and Gaming Council, the croupiers will not be able to qualify. They will not qualify as having certain skills, qualifications, salaries, and professions. the BGC also added that using arbitrary skills or salary requirements will damage highly successful parts of the UK economy.

The casino industry is one of the most important sectors of the UK’s economy. It also has a very important meaning for the leisure industry. Many wealthy tourists arrive in the country from all around the world, and thus, the country is obliged to provide the top quality service. In order to do so, the country has to have top quality staff. This is why the new law was introduced. The main reason behind it is to remain competitive. The casinos need to have the best croupiers with the great arithmetic agility, said Michael Dugher, the chief executive of Betting and Gaming Council.

“While we are determined to grow the number of UK croupiers through the NVQ (a vocational qualification) in Gaming Operations available at many colleges and through the world-class Nottingham Casino Academy, we need the ability to employ the best from around the world.”

The BGC notes that the government has announced exemptions for certain workers and skills and hopes casino workers will be added to the list.

The best of the best 

Boris Johnso, the now-Prime minister of the UK, was the initiator of the “Taking back control” legislation, focusing on the immigration policy. Immigration was the key message of the campaign to leave the European Union.

The government wants to deliver on its promise and replace the free cross-border movement of the EU with a tougher system that “attracts and welcomes the brightest and the best.”

Those are the words of Home Secretary Priti Patel, who was forced to admit last month that her own Indian immigrant parents would not have qualified to live and work in the UK under the new system.

The UK is not the first country to implement certain regulations on the immigrant flow and the qualification within the country. Trump’s government has also rescinded the Obama-era Deferred Action for Children Arrivals immigration policy back in 2017. The policy was opposed by the gaming companies. In most of the countries, the gaming companies are the ones who benefit the most from the workforce from immigrant populations.