Around 910 Casinos in the Us Are Now Close

By John Isaac,
Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac is an editor with many years of experience in the gambling industry. He writes expert articles on card games like blackjack and poker. In addition, he is also well aware of the US gambling laws and the Indian and Dutch gambling markets. You can rely on verified information and insightful details.

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Last updated: April 1, 2020

The American Gaming Association (AGA) just a few days ago announced that they have made the decision to suspend 92% of the casinos all around the U.S. or 910 casinos in total.

A night in casino © whekevi/Pixabay

A representative of the American Gaming Association has stated that the suspensions hit an estimated 642,000 employees, almost all of the country’s direct casino gaming staff.

Nevada’s Governor Steve Sisolak also ordered the 440 approved casino facilities of the state to shutter in an attempt to limit the spread of the globe-ravaging COVID-19 virus. The removal involved facilities of 15 slot machines or less in convenience stores, pharmacies, bars, and taverns at 1,977 registered establishments.

The gambling industry group headquartered in Washington D.C. says the majority of the nearly 100 casinos that remain operating are tribal facilities that are operating for smaller utility operations.

A number of tribes view themselves as independent states and are not subject to directives from governments or public health agencies.

The only remaining open-licensed gambling facilities are in Deadwood, South Dakota and Florida. Hence, Deadwood Mayor David Ruth Jr. on Monday night negotiated with the town’s gambling facilities to uninstall their slot machines and table games.

The Coronavirus Will Affect the Us Economy for $43.5 Billion

The widespread suspensions are estimated to affect the US economy of economic operation of $43.5 billion if they stay suspended for the next couple of months.

“The federal government must act swiftly and comprehensively to get America’s hospitality employees and the small businesses that support them, back to work. Gaming employees, their families, and communities are bearing the brunt of this economic standstill and will continue to suffer if Congress and the administration don’t take immediate action”- noted Bill Miller, President, and CEO of AGA.

The Nevada Resort Association also urged the congressional delegation of Nevada to call for immediate action to provide relief to the hotel, travel, meeting and conference industry and its large workforce of over 320,000 employees.

The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) is eligible to require a tribal casino to be closed, but only if it violates the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). Nevertheless, Sheppard Mullin’s tribal gaming lawyers Christine Swanick and Wilda Wahpepah said the situation of the COVID-19 virus is a whole different thing, however, it still can suspend casino’s activities in case it threatens the public health and safety.

New York Is the Current Epicenter of the Coronavirus

At the moment the US is the country with the most affected people from COVID-19 and in the last 2 days, the death toll doubled and surpassed 2000. New York is the world’s epicenter of the pandemic with more than 10000 infected people.

Other countries which are just as affected by the coronavirus in the current moment are Italy and Spain which are in a complete quarantine in the last few weeks.

The coronavirus first appeared in China’s city Wuhan in December last year. After 2 months of quarantine, China finally won the virus and life in Wuhan is slowly going back to normal. Contrary to that, now the virus seems to be a real threat for America and Europe where countries have closed their borders and healthcare systems are strongly battling this disease.