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Coronavirus Act 2020 granted Royal Assent

The Coronavirus Act 2020 has been granted Royal Assent today (25 March 2020), meaning that it is now in force. It was rushed through Parliament in just five working days since the first reading of what was then the Coronavirus Bill on 19 March 2020. From the perspective of the hospitality, leisure and gambling sectors, […]

Emergency coronavirus legislation delays commercial landlord sanctions and debt enforcement for at least 3 months

Within the last hour, and with just one clear day remaining before rent payments fall due on the March quarter day (25 March), the government has introduced emergency legislation to enact a moratorium on commercial landlord sanctions and debt enforcement for at least three months. This will have the effect of preventing landlords from forfeiting commercial […]

New emergency coronavirus regulations provide immediate powers to close hospitality, leisure and gambling premises

New emergency regulations providing coronavirus-related closure powers – The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Business Closure) (England) Regulations 2020 – came into effect at 2pm today (Saturday 21 March 2020). You can download the Regulations below. The government’s Explanatory Note to the Regulations states as follows: These Regulations require the closure of businesses selling food or drink for consumption on […]

Government tells pubs, clubs, restaurants, casinos etc to close and announces further financial support

At the daily coronavirus press conference this evening (20 March 2019), the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, announced the following: The government is now telling pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants (subsequently extended during his speech to clubs, theatres, cinemas, gyms and leisure centres) “to close tonight as soon […]

Planning rules to be relaxed to allow pubs & restaurants to provide hot food & drink takeaway service

As a further reaction to the current coronavirus/COVID-19 crisis, the government has today (18 March 2020) announced a relaxation of planning rules so that so pubs and restaurants can operate as hot food takeaways during the coronavirus outbreak. The key points are as follows: The government will set out measures so that pubs and restaurants can operate […]

Further financial support for hospitality & leisure businesses affected by the coronavirus crisis

Yesterday (16 March), we incorporated within our “Coronavirus legal guidance – do’s and don’ts” article for Pub & Bar not only (a) reference to the financial support promised to hospitality businesses but also (b) relevant comment arising from the Prime Minister’s statement on coronavirus delivered by him yesterday evening. In particular we focused on Boris Johnson’s comments […]

MoPlay operating licence subjected to review and suspension

The UK Gambling Commission has today announced that it has commenced a review of the operating licence held by Addison Global Limited trading as MoPlay and, arising from that review, has suspended its licence. This is the second such announcement this week, following that on 18 February 2020 in relation to Matchbook. The UKGC’s announcement in […]

Matchbook operating licence subjected to review and suspension

The Gambling Commission has today published on its website an Information Notice in which it announces that it has undertaken a review of the operating licence held by Triplebet Limited t/a Matchbook and, arising from that review, has suspended its licence. The full announcement reads as follows: Information notice The Gambling Commission has undertaken a Licence review under s116 […]