Novel Coronavirus Pandemic Impacts Casinos

Published: 07/07/2020

Reading Time: 4 Min

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The global economy suffered massive losses because of the novel coronavirus. The pandemic infected more than 11 million people worldwide and took away the lives of more than half a million. Travel restrictions and business shutdown dragged revenues down to an unprecedented level.

Most companies reported record losses they’ve never experience since their existence.

Casinos are among the companies hardly hit by the pandemic. Casinos rely on tourism for revenue, and the cancellation of flights and the restrictions for people to go out greatly impacted their operations.

Casinos needed to shut down doors for clients since mid-March because of the rapidly increasing cases of novel coronavirus infection and death. Operators continued paying employees wages during the months of lockdowns, while some decided to furlough workers to survive the pandemic’s impact.

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Rise and threat of online gaming

Online gaming rose during the months of lockdown. Google reported in March that the volume for searches for online gambling websites massively increased after the travel restrictions were imposed. Online gambling platforms worldwide reported a high increase in subscriptions and logins.

Gamblers playing in land-based casinos shifted their attention to online casinos because of its accessibility.

Players enjoyed playing their favorite casino games while lying down in their beds and couches.

However, problem gambling groups around the globe warned of the high-risk online gambling brings to punters. They cautioned that their boredom could result in severe financial losses in illegal online casinos where gaming has no limits in both time and betting capacity.

The rise of online casinos is seen as a massive competition for land-based casinos. Experts believe that social distancing and the fear of joining a large group of people will continue in the post-coronavirus future. Restrictions and personal health precautions are expected to impact the number of guests in the casinos.

Gambling and casino floor traffic declined during the pandemic

Many casinos globally resumed operations after regulators lifted restrictions. Casinos in the US started reopening operations in late-May adapting social distancing protocols, capping operational capacities. The casinos limited the number of guests on the casino floors and imposed four to six feet distance between individuals inside the casinos.

The new rules resulted in a lesser revenue for the casinos. Since January, casinos saw a massive drop in revenue because of the novel coronavirus crisis, as every casino on the planet suffered the same fate. Big-time casinos in Las Vegas, Macau, and Singapore reported a massive drop in revenue.

Sportsbetting contributed to the gaming revenue of many states with regulations in place for the industry. Operators sold non-contact sports events from other countries like darts and table tennis.

Live Dealer casinos provided income for some land-based casinos. However, the games’ revenue during the month is not sufficient to cover the losses accumulated by the operators during the pandemic.

Casinos around the globe reopened doors aiming to recover. However, experts believe that recovery is still far from happening while the deadly pathogen continues to scare everyone from going out. Things can only go back to normal if a vaccine or a cure is discovered.