This archive report was first published on 27 June 2020.
As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, the gambling industry has been no exception to the economic disruption. However, the impact on the industry is nuanced and polarized, with online gambling thriving while physical operations falter.
According to a report by GlobalWebIndex, gamblers are consuming more media, with a significant increase in mobile usage. This has led to a surge in online poker, e-sports, and virtual sports, with online poker seeing a 43% growth and a 255% increase in first-time players.
As countries slowly phase out from the 'stay at home' message, there are bound to be changes in the industry. The world is facing an economic depression, and it's likely to get worse before things get better. However, studies have shown that gambling has always been resilient even during periods of recession, given that the expenditure is within the discretion of the consumer.
Physical gambling operations are likely to struggle, especially for small locations, as people shy away from venues that attract larger crowds. On the other hand, e-sports betting is poised to mature further, with competitive video gaming and virtual sports introducing a new demographic into the world of sports betting.
Interestingly, the pandemic has also led to an increase in digital skills among older groups, who are rapidly learning to navigate the online world. This presents an opportunity for the online gambling industry to capitalize on.
As the road to economic recovery is bound to be rocky, it's safe to say that the gambling industry has a record to be resilient during recessions and people will still gamble.
