The island’s betting shops are still closed more than two months after their operating licences expired.

Four businesses were ordered to shut down on March 31 after their annual permits expired.

As of yesterday, none of the four companies had submitted licence-renewal applications to the Bermuda Gaming Commission, despite being given extensions to do so.

Yesterday Seahorses betting shop on Queen Street was locked. A note on the door read: “Seahorses will be closed from Friday, April 1 due to unforeseen circumstances. Reopening Wednesday, June 1.”

Triple Crown Racing on Victoria Street was also closed, with a sign advising customers: “Sorry. We will be closed from April 1 until further notice.”

Paradise Games on Court Street was also closed.

A phone call to that business was answered by a man who advised that all inquiries should be directed to owner Marc Bean, who was unavailable. Calls to the three other businesses went unanswered.

The Bermuda Gaming Commission took over from the Betting Licensing Authority as the regulator of betting shops last August. It was given “new and more robust” powers to police the industry.

Shortly afterwards, businesses were advised to submit licence renewals for the 2022-23 financial year by the end of December. That deadline was later extended to January 31.

A spokeswoman for the commission said that it had still not received an application from any of the four betting shops.

The spokeswoman said: “Our position hasn’t changed since April 1. The circumstances haven’t changed – we are currently not in receipt of any applications to renew licences.

“If and when we do receive them, we will be happy to review and process them.”