COVID Casino Map: Where You Can Play Live Poker in Europe
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The status of live poker in Europe is fractured and unclear due to COVID-19 restrictions. COVIK has put together a COVIC casino map to help you sort through the wreckage caused by the restrictions and clarify the situation.
Gambling was made illegal in all but four regions in Russia in 2009. There are three live casinos in the country now: Tigre de Cristal Hotel & Resort in Primorsky Krai, Casino Sobranie in Kaliningrad Oblast, and Casino Sochi.
PokerStars cancelled its $25,000 Players Championship at Casino Barcelona this year. The main problem PokerStars would have come up against is travel bans. Casino Barca is open and has cash games running from 2pm until 9pm every day.
Tournaments are off the menu at COVID casinos. Masks are mandatory, alcohol gel is available for all players, Perspex dividers are in place at the table and all surfaces are disinfected on a regular basis. Some casinos in Spain have similar provisions in their casinos, including Casino Marbella, Casino De Juego De Torrequebrada and Gran Casino Costa Brava.
Masks are mandatory. Alcohol gel is available for all players. Perspex dividers are in place at the table. All surfaces are disinfected on a regular basis.
The Czech Republic declared a national state of emergency on March 12. The biggest Czech casino, King's, was one of the first venues to reopen after COVID restrictions. King’s hosted the European leg of 2020 WSOP Main Event in December. Changes are afoot and the state-of-emergency ended on April 11. Casinos are still closed, but shops, markets and other services could reopen on May 3 if the current "favorable trend" continues.
The majority of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland casinos have been closed since December. The latest easing on April 12 allowed outdoor facilities to reopen. Boris Johnson's plan is to resume social contact and almost all non-essential business on May 17. From there, the UK should be completely free of all COVID restrictions by June 21.
75% of Italy was put into lockdown on March 15. Restrictions will start lifting as of Monday. From May 3, 75% will drop into the yellow "low risk" zone. This is expected to trigger a wave of easing and casinos will reopen as early as June 2.
There is a chance that some casinos will be able to reopen in June. The situation is complicated as President Macron is due to announce his plan for easing restrictions on Friday. Prime Minister Jean Castex has said that the country’s “state of health emergency” status will end on June 2.
The outlook for German casinos is bleak until June 30. Venues across the country have been closed since March 4, 2021.
The federal government implemented an emergency brake on COVID cases per 100,000 residents for seven days. The average infection rate in Germany last Thursday was 161. Only one state out of 16 had fewer than 100 infections per hundred, 000 people. At present, casinos in the country remain closed. If infection rates drop, they may be able to reopen on a regional basis.
Restrict contact to one household/person, impose curfews between 10 pm and 5 am, allow non-essential stores to serve customers who produce a negative COVID test, and if infection rates exceed 150 per 100,000, stores can only offer pick-up/delivery services.
