Published: 15.04.2020, 19:22
5 min read
Members of the UK Parliament are concerned about the fact that gamblers will be placing riskier bets, as mainstream sports are temporarily not available due to the coronavirus outbreak. MPs encouraged online casinos to set a wagering limit of £50 per day for the duration of the pandemic.
- UK Authorities Impose Strict Limitations to Gambling Due to Coronavirus
- Coronavirus is Having a Drastic Effect on Worldwide Sports Betting and Gambling
New Online Betting Risks
All the UK betting shops and casinos are currently on closure for the sake of avoiding large gatherings. Due to this, people are looking for ways to place bets and gamble from the safety of their homes. Therefore, eGaming is on the rise. Nonetheless, people should be careful with what they choose to wager in online gaming nowadays.
As cancellation measures reach major sports occasions, such as Grand National and the Premier League, online gaming companies offer users the option to place wagers on virtual sports and slot machines.
One of William Hill’s top executives sent the company’s staff an email with guidelines on how to handle the cancellation of the biggest sports events. One of the recommendations was to advise customers to bet on other things, such as Japanese baseball or table tennis. William Hill’s US Twitter also offers bets on the Belarus Premier League.
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Online gambling companies are actively advertising their services, hoping to win more customers for their virtual casinos. These customers may end up using online services on a regular basis since eGaming has higher addiction rates than sports wagering.
Both MansionBet and Betway are using paid Google ads to promote virtual events generated by the computer. Customers can place bets online the same way they would do it with a regular football game. Betway, however, has a recent history of an unprecedented fine of £11.6 million for accepting large sums of money from people who were showing clear signs of gambling addiction.
COVID-19 is pushing the bet-placing operators to pay attention even to small-scale events that they would typically ignore. For instance, when a Spanish streamer organized a FIFA tournament for gamers from all over the globe, William Hill bookmakers started giving odds on the games. The streamer published a post in his Twitter account, asking them to stop since, as he claims, there is no way to know how at least half of the participants play.
The Ethical Side of Online Gambling During the Pandemic
Because of the coronavirus situation, together with the cancellation of the year’s most significant sporting occasions, the prices for the shares of gambling companies have drastically declined. Due to this, they are in the process of changing their strategies to restore their positions on the market.
Members of the Parliament in a cross-party group addressed the Betting and Gaming Council with an official letter, asking companies not to put their financial struggle before the interests and wellbeing of their clients.
Carolyn Harris from the Labour Party, SNP’s Ronnie Cowan, and the Conservatives’ Iain Duncan Smith mentioned their grave concerns about the COVID-19 emergency being a new urge for people to seek entertainment in online gambling. They also suggested a daily betting limit of £50 that would serve as a sign of being willing to protect the finances of individuals and society.
It is especially vital to maintain the ethical side of the business at these difficult times. Thus, the MPs also stated that it is essential to block clients with multiple user accounts and prompt actions towards players that show signs of unhealthy gambling addiction.
As the experts have warned, citizens with a gambling disorder are highly likely to blindly bet even on events in which they cannot assess the outcome. Matt Gaskell from the NHS gambling medical centers confirms that in the clinics, the examples of the most severe cases of addiction are the people that diversify from gambling to wagering on random things that people do not understand.
The Current Situation in the UK Gambling Industry
However, as of now, the gambling industry in the UK is still desperately doing whatever it takes to raise profits. Online gaming companies keep coming up with various bonuses and special offers to boost the users’ excitement and immersion into the action. It may be profitable from the business point of view; however, it often comes at the cost of the stability of people’s lives, including their mental health and finances.
Carolyn Harris mentions that virtual events or other obscure offers are unreliable to the extent that only people with gambling problems can invest in it. Since people have to stay at home during the coronavirus outbreak and are looking for distractions, it is rather cold-blooded to target a vulnerable audience.
Ian Duncan Smith adds that it is terrible to see how gambling companies are trying to guarantee a constant money inflow from people who find themselves in an emergency of a global scale. It is shocking how online betting sources offer wagers on sports and events with little reputation.
Another concern was the fact that betting shops stayed open, ignoring all the authorities’ advice, until the official order by Boris Johnson. For instance, in the same insider email from the William Hill company, the management informs staff about conducting regular daily business in the main stores.
William Hill’s competitor, Betfred, was also welcoming clients, exposing them and the employees to the potential risk of contamination, even after the announcement of the advised measures.
Besides, one of Betfred’s staff members admitted that the employees had to continue working without hand sanitizer, even though the management promised that there would be a delivery at some point later. The workers had no gloves either, and yet were cleaning the shops. The process included the pens that the customers were using to write down their wagers. The shop seemed to be a perfect breeding ground for the virus, as there were many visitors, including senior citizens, and no proper means of hygiene.
The media is currently waiting for comments from big bookmaker companies, such as MansionBet, 32Red, and Betway. William Hill representatives stated that the company donated the money that the gamblers bet on FIFA events to charity. They also shared that they are “extra sensitive” with their promotional messages and cut the marketing expenses since the coronavirus outbreak.
