Nevada Starts to Ease COVID-19 Restrictions for Casinos

A few days ago, Governor Steve Sisolak of Nevada announced that he had begun to roll back some of the COVID-29 restrictions that were imposed in November as part of the efforts to contain the spread of the virus. Casinos were some of the most affected by this move as they could only operate at a quarter of their full capacity.

Thankfully, things are beginning to get better, and with the vaccine now accessible to more areas, Nevada’s authorities are finally starting to ease the strict restrictions. That said, the casinos in the state will from Monday, February 15, begin to roll back the capacity limits albeit in phases. It will begin with a jump from 25 percent to 35 percent at most gaming and entertainment spaces. These include:

• Casino gaming floors
• Racetracks
• Places of worship
• Bowling alleys
• Fitness studios
• Arcades

Full Operations to Return Soon

The capacity limits will ease up even further on March 15 – occupancy limits will increase to 50 percent thus giving even more people a chance to return to enjoying their favorite forms of entertainment. However, the goal is the return of full-fledged operations at these venues.

According to the state’s governor, if everyone does their part in the fight to reduce the spread of COVID-19 by April 15, the state will continue to hand over control to the local jurisdictions. This, he believes, will require counties to “demonstrate a decrease in COVID trends, adequate hospital capacity within their region, and evidence that they can continue performing an adequate level.”

Moreover, the governor also emphasized the need to ensure that all visitors to the gaming and entertainment spaces continue to observe health and safety regulations.

“As we ease restrictions, we must follow the science and studies, which states clearly and repeatedly that closures to certain settings are more impactful in reducing disease transmission. While we are hopeful that trends will continue to decrease if all mitigation measures are followed, we must remain flexible – as we have done all along.”

Governor Steve Sisolak.

If everyone plays their role, the state can avoid scenarios where it will have to roll back the decisions to lift some of the restrictions. Already, several businesses have suffered due to the occupancy and capacity restrictions which makes the success of the ongoing reopening efforts very important for their recovery.

Casino executives in Nevada have welcomed the decision and affirmed their support for the initiative. Their efforts will be vital in ensuring the success of the initiative. If everything goes to plan, 2021 could be a great year that will be made even better by the success that is anticipated for certain sectors such as sports betting.