The trend in online gambling during the COVID-19 pandemic has made an interesting headline in the news. A recent report stated that the likelihood of regular players to participate in online gambling (casinos and slots) sextupled when juxtaposed with the record before the pandemic.
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was reported as an outbreak in Wuhan, China, on 31st December 2019. However, it did not become a pandemic (that is, a geographically widespread epidemic) until the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it one on 11th March 2020. Since then, over 167 million positive test cases have been confirmed with about 3.5 million associated deaths confirmed as of today (26th March 2021).
The pandemic has affected all sectors of business, including transportation, tourism/migration, healthcare, banking, financial markets, and gambling. While some sectors, such as aviation and tourism have been negatively affected and counting historically low revenues due to the associated national lockdowns and border closures, some others, such as online gambling, have been positively affected with significant gains recorded. Still, the gambling industry (both offline and online) is one of those multi-dimensional sectors that have seen a mixed impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the first quarter of 2020, iGaming Business (iGB) forecast an 11% drop in revenue in the gambling market. This was due to the increasing closure of most offline gambling facilities in developed nations in compliance with government orders on restraining the spread of the virus. Examples of these orders include restriction of movement and business activities, social or physical distancing, municipal or national lockdowns, etc.
Despite the adverse situation of offline gambling, on the other hand, online gambling during COVID has undergone a dramatic increase by six times more than it used to be. A May 2021 report from research led by the University of Bristol, United Kingdom, supports this information. Professor Alan Emond of the Medical School of the University of Bristol said that the study showed how people’s attitudes and gambling behaviour changed during a lockdown – online gambling behaviour increased even when everybody stood inside and could not be socially active.
Prior to the report by the University of Bristol, in October 2020, Global Poker reported that since the COVID-19 lockdowns began, there has been a 255 percent increase in first-time online poker players. Moreover, since April 2020, the poker industry has grown by 43 percent. Some countries have seen the increase as an opportunity and have amended their legislation on online gambling. For instance, Belarus and Armenia have legalized online casinos and made certain amendments to existing legislation, respectively.
The pandemic is contributing to the growing popularity of gaming applications, social gaming is boosting the growth of the mobile gaming market, and several online gaming platforms have increased their marketing and promotional activity in addition to more tournaments and bonuses for players. We, therefore, urge you to seize this opportunity to try some very profitable games and promotional offers from VipCasinoPay’s collections. You can try our ecoPayz, Skrill, and NETELLER online casinos. Also, we bring you casino news to keep you informed of the latest promotional offers and prizes for lucky winners. Best of luck!
