With almost all the sports leagues of the world postponed or suspended because of Covid-19, the sports betting industry has also been impacted significantly. Sports events make a direct contribution to the betting industry and cancellation of these events has had a major negative impact on the latter’s revenues. However, there are several other ways in which coronavirus is affecting the gambling industry. Let’s learn about some of them below.
Shutdown of brick and mortar casinos
A large number of brick and mortar casinos have shut down their operations. For instance, an Oregon casino had to close its doors to people after one of its own employees was diagnosed with coronavirus. Macau casinos have also shut down completely. So is the case with Las Vegas and other parts of the world.
More and more gamblers are switching to online casino platforms
As online casinos enable players to indulge in their favourite casino games from within the comfort of their living rooms, without the need of physically interacting with anybody, they are proving to be the most preferred option amongst players these days. Considering the ongoing crisis, gambling with reputed and reliable online casino is like Spin Palace Casino is expected to cushion the blow being dealt to the gambling industry overall.
Cancellation of gaming competitions
A large majority of gaming tournaments have already been postponed or cancelled. The others are also expected to get postponed/cancelled soon. Gaming Developers’ Conference (GDC) which was scheduled to happen from March 16 to March 20 this year has been postponed to August. There are no guarantees that it will happen in August too. All these events are expected to have an overall negative impact on the gambling industry of the present as well as future.
Gambling companies’ stocks take a hit
As the global economy is rapidly heading into recession, gambling industry, irrespective of online platforms, is facing major blows from all quarters. The stock prices of almost all the well-known gambling companies are falling rapidly. Investors are pulling out money expecting hard times ahead.
Betting options
One can still wager money on different possibilities. Although riskier than the conventional betting options, these are the best that the punters can find today. As markets continue to fall world over, and odds related to different eventualities fluctuate, bookmakers are offering prop bets on all kinds of possibilities. You can bet if major sports events like London Marathon, Tour de France, English Premier League will still happen this year or get cancelled in entirety; if Liverpool will be handed the EPL crown despite cancellation etc. Political betting is another domain which is receiving plenty of action.
Conclusion
It’s a foregone conclusion that by the time it’s over, Covid-19 pandemic would have dealt a huge blow to economies world-over. If it gets extended to several months, the gambling industry will witness paucity of funds, with more and more money being channelled towards fight against this disease. The unavailability of sports events to bet on is also going to put a financial strain on gamblers as they’ll indulge in fewer and riskier options.
As the global economy is rapidly heading into recession, gambling industry, irrespective of online platforms, is facing major blows from all quarters. The stock prices of almost all the well-known gambling companies are falling rapidly. Investors are pulling out money expecting hard times ahead.
