Joy for punters as betting shops in England open their doors to customers again

Thousands of betting shops in England will open their doors to customers again on Monday in time for an action-packed week of sport, headlined by five days of exhilarating racing at Royal Ascot and the return of Premier League football.

Shops in England, which have been closed since March 20, are opening with a range of strict social distancing and protective measures, including sneeze screens and limitations on customers, with every branch of Coral, Ladbrokes, Betfred and Paddy Power open for business alongside the majority of William Hill shops.

They open in time for Royal Ascot, which starts on Tuesday, and before the Premier League returns on Wednesday evening.

Shops in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have not yet been given the green light to open, while in Ireland 138 branches under the Coral and Ladbrokes banner will begin trading again in addition to 150 Paddy Power shops.

All 2,445 shops in England run by Ladbrokes and Coral will open on Monday, which is more than was initially expected.

Simon Clare, Ladbrokes Coral PR director, said: "At first we only thought we'd only be able to open a proportion of the shops but, as the team has worked so well, we can now open every single shop – it's great.

"We've got all the protective measures in place and we've been able to see how the big supermarkets have managed and there's a clear roadmap from the government. It's been a case of just getting on and making sure we have all the equipment. We've given the staff training about everything as well.

"It's really good as we've got Royal Ascot and Premier League football back this week. We've had so many people asking about when the shops are open since the racing's been back – a lot of people have transferred online, but there's still a significant amount who haven't and don't plan to. It's important that we can serve those customers now."

William Hill will be opening betting shops in different phases, starting with 734 reopening in England on Monday. They have 1,538 in total across the UK.

Hills have also removed all reusable items, such as pens, and have supplied wipes and spray for customers before using a machine.

Nicola Frampton, William Hill UK retail managing director, said: "The safety and wellbeing of our colleagues and customers is of paramount importance to us, and we've been very thorough in ensuring that our premises are a safe environment for all.

"I'm very proud of the whole retail team during these unprecedented times. I've been especially impressed with the collaborative and innovative approach our teams have taken in getting our retail business back up and running."

The high-street bookmakers, who have had their doors closed since March, will start trading again from MondayCredit: Mark Harvey

All Paddy Power shops will be open in England, and spokesman Paul Binfield said: "We are looking forward to welcoming people back and our principal focus is on safety for colleagues and customers alike.

"Our strict measures will follow official governmental guidelines and include managing the number of customers in our shops at any one time, social distancing, protective screens and other safety measures."

All Betfred shops will open in England on Monday, and a spokesperson for the firm said: "We're looking to open up all of our betting shops in England on Monday. They are opening with the priority of health and safety for all our staff and customers."

'There's been plenty of knocks on the doors and people want to come back'

Chisholm bookmakers are one of England's largest independents and they will be opening 34 of their 36 shops – one remains closed due to staff shortages and another site is damaged following flooding.

The bookmakers' managing director Howard Chisholm is looking forward to returning and is estimating that around 70 per cent of his regular customers will come back in the first week.

"It's been busy but we're looking forward to Monday," he said. "We'd be happy with 70 per cent of our usual footfall and it might take until the end of the year before we reach 100 per cent. There's a lot of unknowns, but I know there's been plenty of knocks on the doors and people want to come back.

"The vast majority of shops will be open. They will be usual hours but closing at 8pm instead of 9.30pm, that's to try to prevent staff burnout with many staff shielding and isolating.

Chisholm bookmakers: will have 34 shops open on Monday

"We've done plenty of things similar to the other shops. There's plenty of posters around, dividers with the machines, we've moved most of the seating and tables and have a notice on the door about the amount of people in the shops. Some of the smaller shops will have six and the larger ones have about a dozen.

"There's an LED sign as well which the staff can manage which basically say 'shop busy, please queue, one in one out, thank you'. This stops customers trying to get in when the lock is on and wondering what's going on."

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