Published: 30.03.2020, 16:47
4 min read
As the coronavirus has been spreading across the globe, it has had devastating effects on international gambling markets, as well as on sports events. In order to prevent the spread of the virus, casinos are being shut down and sporting events are being cancelled. Let’s take a look at some of the ways COVID-19 is affecting these industries.
Effects on Sporting Events
From the point of view of epidemiology, sports are akin to a petri dish. Thousands of fans sit in close proximity to one another, which creates a serious risk of disease transmission. Because of the highly contagious nature of the coronavirus, it only makes sense for such events to be postponed or cancelled.
On March 17, UEFA held a crisis meeting in order to determine whether or not Euro 2020 should be postponed. This summer’s event was to be the 60th commemoration of the tournament, and extravagant plans had been made. However, they had no other choice but to postpone the event until next year.
In addition to the postponement of Euro 2020, UEFA also put the continent’s two most important club competitions, the Champions League and the Europa League, on indefinite hold.
English Premier League games have also been postponed until at least April 30th. The decision was made soon after Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and Chelsea player Cellum Hudson-Odio had tested positive for the coronavirus. Shortly thereafter, English Football League joined the Premier League in postponing all of its matches until April 30th. The Women’s Super League and the FA Cup are also postponed until the same date. According to information received by the Independent, English Premier League decision-makers are considering holding a 92 match super tournament to end the season. The event would be held in complete isolation from the outside world and no possibility of player infection. Matches would be played in a manner akin to the FIFA World Cup, with teams playing several games a week.
With the exception of Belarus, all European countries have temporarily suspended their domestic football leagues.
The rate of COVID-19 contractions is also rising in the US. The country now has the largest amount of confirmed coronavirus cases in the world. The state of the country’s sports leagues is reflecting that fact. All major sporting leagues, including the National Basketball Association, Major League Soccer, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and Major League Baseball have been suspended to help contain the spread of COVID-19.
Effects on the Gambling Industry
The gambling industry is in just as bad of a position as the sports industry. Casinos and other gaming venues around the world are being shut down to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Newgioco, a betting technology provider, lost out on a large amount of revenue due to the Italian shutdown. Because of this, the company has temporarily closed all of its physical locations. The company is hopeful that this is not going to affect its online operations, but it has stated that the overall impact of the virus on its bottom line remains to be seen.
Playtech is another company that is suspending operations. As of March 10th, the company is shut down its betting shop estate, Snaitech. Playtech is still hopeful that the revenue from its online operations will soften the blow to its overall income.
Within the Netherlands, Holland Casino has shut down all of its branches. The ban was supposed to last until March 31, but it was then extended until June 1. Belgium has also shut down all of its casinos and gaming venues.
A similar situation can be seen in Nevada, which houses such gambling meccas as Las Vegas and Paradise has ordered all casinos to close. Atlantic City in New Jersey has also shut down its gambling sites due to fears of the coronavirus. Other states and cities have quickly followed suit.
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Some gamblers who can’t visit a casino are turning to online venues instead. Internet gambling providers in the US have reported a large spike in both player volume and bet amounts over the past weeks. One of these providers, FOX Bet, has stated that their online poker and casino operations have doubled their rate of new customer acquisition. Furthermore, there is some speculation that people are turning to internet gambling because there are no sports events to watch on television and they are growing bored.
While the rate of the coronavirus spread has slowed in China, it is starting to ramp up in the rest of the world, so it’s entirely possible that the shut-downs due to the coronavirus will only become more widespread.
