Sheffield casinos are finally open again – but is it worth the risk of visiting them?
After initially being told by the government that August 1 would be the date casinos could throw open their doors, this date was pushed back by another two weeks in a further delay.
Casinos have been some of the latest businesses to have been given the green light, with operators growing frustrated at the slow pace of progress compared to other industries.
But they now have a chance to get back on their feet, though casino players may be thinking twice about visiting them when there are other safer options available to them.
What are the safety measures being used at Sheffield casinos?
Sheffield has already been used as something of a guinea pig with socially distanced crowds having been allowed to attend the final of the World Snooker Championship in the city.
Now, casinos in the city are able to open up, with the proviso that the coronavirus crisis has certainly not gone away and the global pandemic certainly still needs to be taken into account.
Napoleons, for example, has told customers that they need to wear face coverings when inside the casino. However, this does not apply if they are eating and drinking during their visit, which indicates how confusing some of the rules and regulations still are at this time.
Guests who attend the casino will also have to sanitise their hands on entry, with further stations for hand-cleaning be positioned around the venue. In addition, social distancing rules are in place with clear signage having been installed to point casino players in the right direction to go.
While walk-ins are encouraged, there is a limit on the number of people allowed to be inside the Napoleons casino in Sheffield, which might be a problem for some individuals who decide to head to the venue for a game of blackjack, sizzling hot or roulette.
Cash transactions will still be permitted, though card payments are encouraged, while perspex screens have been installed throughout the facility in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus. Guests have also been warned that they should stay away if they have any symptoms at all.
The Genting casino in Sheffield has a lot of similar measures in place in order to keep people safe. In its guidance, the casino says table games will be restricted to three players at once in order to ensure that social distancing rules can be followed.
At Genting, players will also be able to use the casino’s own personal protective equipment (PPE) if they wish to, with the PPE also available to staff who are working at the site.
Casino Sheffield would be our choice
Is playing casino games online simply a better option?
Most people understand that places such as casinos had to be allowed to reopen eventually, otherwise they would be at a strong risk of going out of business altogether.
But it remains to be seen whether or not casino fans are ready to return to venues where it may not be possible to keep everything as clean as it needs to be to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Casino chips, for example, are handled by a huge number of people every day.
With more than 40,000 people in the UK having already died of the virus, it’s not worth risking your life when you can just play over the internet instead. While casinos have taken safety measures, it only takes one person who has the virus to go into one of these facilities to put lives at risk.
Playing at online casinos comes with various advantages, such as the fact they are all open 24 hours a day and seven days a week, meaning games are always available to play. The bonuses and promotions offered by online casinos are also usually much better than at bricks and mortar sites such as the casinos run in Sheffield by Genting and Napoleons, to name but two.
Casino players will have to make up their own minds whether it is the right time to return to Sheffield casinos. But playing at online casinos has become a lot more popular over the course of the last six months and this is a trend that does not seem likely to be reversed any time soon.
