ANMARE statement on the GAMING HALLS IN ANDALUCÍA and the reactivation of operations after the lockdown

Highlights

• In Andalusia there is a gaming hall for every 9,557 inhabitants.
• In the last year, 10 were opened, which indicates that the market stabilizes after the novelty.
• In 2020 there are 880 in operation, although around 20% remain closed or with limited activity, after closure by the Alarm State.
• In the Andalusian capitals there is one room for every 7,196 inhabitants. In other cities, not capitals, there is one for every 10,987 inhabitants.
• Gaming halls employ 4,400 people. 880 employees remain in temporary lay-offs (ERTEs), awaiting the complete reactivation of the activity
• According to the available data, 80% are open, almost 100% in capitals, but customer visits are at 50%.
• Like all leisure sectors, the effect of the lack of tourists is noticeable.
• 8.2% of residents in Andalusia between 18 and 75 years of age went to a gaming hall at some time last year, that is, 520,000 people, mostly men under the age of 35.

In Andalusia there is a gaming hall for every 9,557 inhabitants. In the provincial capitals the density is somewhat higher: one for every 7,196 inhabitants. In the rest of the cities where there is this leisure offer, there is one for every 10,987 inhabitants. These are data from May 2020, without considering the eventual closings or irregularities derived from the Covid-19 pandemic.

For the almost 8.5 million inhabitants in Andalusia, there are 880 salons, with a slight growth since 2019: 10. The pace of openings has slowed down, it is possible to think that demand is saturating after the novelty effect of recent years.

In the capitals there are 2.4 million inhabitants with an offer of 332 gaming halls, that is, one for every 7,196 inhabitants.
In addition to the eight capitals, there are 548 salons in another 182 Andalusian cities, with a total of 4.5 million inhabitants. In these cities there is one for every 10,987 inhabitants.

There are 1.5 million residents in 596 municipalities in which there is no gaming hall.

The province with the largest offer of salons is Huelva: one for every 4,309 inhabitants.

The one with the lowest offer is Granada, with one for every 16,329 inhabitants. Outside the capital there is only one gaming hall for every 21,319 inhabitants.

Between both are Cádiz, Jaén and Seville, with a little more than one gaming hall for every 10,000 inhabitants and Almería, Málaga and Córdoba a little below that reference.

Gaming halls employ 4,400 people. Logically, the restrictions established by the State of Alarm supposed the passage to ERTEs of almost all of them (except the personnel assigned to maintenance), between March 14 and mid-June. In the last month and a half, gaming hall activity has been reactivated at different speeds.

At the end of July, 80% are open, almost 100% in the capitals and main cities, and more than 3,520 employees have left temporary lay-offs. There are still 880 employees in temporary lay-offs.

Last year 8.2% of the population between 18 and 75 years of age visited a gaming hall, that is, about 520,000 customers, mostly men under 35 years of age.

The gaming halls have opened with all the security measures, they have made a great economic and human effort to comply with the regulations: daily disinfection of the premises, disinfection of the devices and utensils used by each client, distance of 1.5 meters between positions of customers, use of masks by customers and employees, etc. In gaming halls there are no crowds that pose a risk to their customers.

The following table shows the most significant data.