The gambling landscape evolved tremendously following social distancing practices due to CoViD-19. While physical casinos around the globe adopted new regulations to curb virus transmission, the business was hampered during the initial months of lockdown. As industries around the globe slowly return to business, the US laid down basic norms prohibiting operations at full capacity.
On the other hand, the demand for online casinos skyrocketed during the same period. In the absence of sporting events, sports betting operators shifted their focus on alternate events like eSports, which gained massive followers during the lockdown. The situation is slowly improving as the major leagues return to television. However, the situation is far from normal.
In fact, casinobee.com made a few studies on CoViD-19 and recent developments.
So, check it out for more.
The New Normal
With the government slowly relaxing the norms, business is gradually returning to physical casinos. However, online casinos have established a strong foothold as social distancing norms do not apply. However, competition is fierce in the domain as new casinos continue to pop up.
Despite the ravaging socio-economic downturn, the enthusiasm has been high among gamblers. A prime example is ever-rising revenue. A few big mergers were also reported from the major players, increasing hopes of early recovery. But the business model has changed post-CoViD-19. When comparing business in the first and second quarters, a steady increase in demand was noticed. The competition also got fierce during the same period.
Perhaps the only benefit of the lockdown is massive improvements in the iGaming industry and ease of doing business since most regional and federal governments are planning to regulate the market within the new few months.
Online casinos are now offering bingo, video slots, poker, baccarat, and a whole host of related games apart from sports betting services. Thus, opening new avenues for the players to explore. Video slots are the most popular at land-based casinos and the trend continues at online casinos.
Online poker rooms are equally popular and make up a significant portion of the demand. Next in line, virtual sports betting generates the bulk of the revenue. Huge wagers are recorded during major sporting events like prestigious horse racing events, football tournaments, basketball, and baseball leagues.
A Shift in Gambling Behavior
While gambling is usually considered taboo in most parts of the world, CoViD-19 highlighted the perks of online wagering, reducing the social stigma to a certain degree. iGaming arrived as a boon just as people started searching for accessible domestic entertainment. And the trend is here to stay.
Among the numerous perks of online gambling, anonymity is key. Although crypto casinos offer the highest levels of security, generic operators solve the problem to a certain degree.
Over the past few months, it is clear that online gambling is not a real threat to physical casinos, since the clientele is vastly different. iGaming is actually a catalyst for the industry that has helped reach out to entirely new markets, attracting the younger generations to the sport.
