The Coronavirus is affecting every aspect of life, and the gambling industry is no exception to this.
It wasn’t long ago since life was still normal and we’d go about our business like any other day. Nowadays, we are stuck in our homes and have to wait for this pandemic to go away.
But it seems that things will go worse before they get better in the United States. As the majority of the country is in lockdown, the cases are predicted to go down. But as the stats show it, that’s simply not the case.
But the Coronavirus is affecting all aspects of life. It affects our health, our jobs, and our future. We aren’t sure when we’ll get the economy back, and people are not sure whether they’ll have a job waiting for them.
But one industry that the Coronavirus is also affecting is the gambling industry.
From Offline to Online
No doubt that the gambling industry is seeing a massive change because of the Coronavirus. These changes mostly occur in the form of establishments closing down and opening online.
This change of approach might be a breath of fresh air as they can still operate but this time it won’t put their employees or customers in danger.
While not every gambling institution is closed throughout the United States, many in the States that are affected the most have put their staff on paid leave.
This goes after the government announced the lockdown in a bit to try and stop the spread of the virus.
People Welcome This Change
Even if gambling establishments were forced to close down, for the time being, people are welcoming this change for a number of reasons.
It’s quite obvious that not everybody agrees with gambling, so the fact they’re closed is seen as a good thing by many people. However, we previously mentioned that hardcore gambling fans can still play their favorite casino games and even bet of sports events in the virtual world.
So this change is welcomed by both parties. And while some establishments don’t have online services as of yet, others do meaning they get the much-needed attention.
Some provinces such as British Columbia, Ontario, and Alberta in Canada are seeing a massive surge of online players since the start of the lockdown.
Things in the U.S. are also similar with many free-states seeing a surge of activity in the online gambling department. The states that are mostly experiencing this change are Illinois, Louisiana, Montana, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, and many more.
Drops in Revenue
Even if gambling has become increasingly accessible, the fact that hundreds of sporting events have been canceled is a factor that needs to be taken into consideration.
Even if more and more people are gambling online, the fact that we cant place bets on sporting events is a thing that hinders the industry.
As of today, nearly all major leagues across the most famous sports in the world such as Basketball, Football, Soccer, Baseball, Hockey, and many others are canceled for the time being.
Even the F1 championship has been postponed and moved towards other means of entertainment. There were recent reports that all the F1 drivers will take part in a charity event where they would race in the virtual world.
However, this doesn’t change the fact that having no major sports negatively impacts the industry as a whole. Fans that love betting on these sports have no other means of placing their bets on their favorite teams and leagues.
So, naturally, online casinos and gambling establishments cannot expect these people to be a returning customer in the meantime. This hinders each and every business, and these establishments have to take out loans to cover for payroll needs, as suggested by this report.
This isn’t anything new as many businesses across hundreds of industries have to do the same thing.
Betting Opportunities
The fact that nearly all major sports are canceled is a headache that both bettors and establishments experience. We love placing a bet on our favorite teams, but this simply isn’t possible as of now.
With all that said, online establishments will go through all the leagues in the world to give you something to bet on. That’s why we’re seeing a massive surge in popularity with some of the footballs’ weirdest leagues such as Malaysian, Singaporean, and even the Belarus first league.
As of current writing, only a few leagues are accessible to betting.
But with all that said, online gambling establishments have found a pretty funny way of attracting people by offering them to bet on some of the weirdest stuff out there.
Gambling Safely During the Lockdown
It goes without saying that not every establishment in the industry is in total lockdown. Some still operate on limited bases, but that doesn’t mean you should behave as nothing is happening.
It would be unlike us not to provide you with some safety tips when gambling. These go in accordance with the government’s advice on safety.
- If you happened to be visiting a casino or a gambling establishment, make sure to have your face mask and gloves on at all times.
- Never touch your face, your mouth, or any other part of your body after touching a surface. This is particularly important as you never know who has touched the surface before you.
- Avoid touching or handling money since we cannot be sure who has previously carried them. If the establishment offers it, then make sure to place bets with your card.
- It’s advised to carry wet wipes and hand sanitizer with you even if you don’t get into contact with anyone. If you must handle money, hopefully after collecting your winnings, then make sure to use hand sanitizer after handling the money.
- And the last and probably the one that we suggest the most is to avoid land-based casinos or gambling establishments altogether. If possible, transition to the online world where it is much safer.
- And o bonus one for gambling online, make sure to bet responsibly.