In light of the current Covid-19 crisis, many people have been spending more hours in their homes due to social distancing, working from home, being on furlough or watching their kids due to school closures. Spending more hours at home has led to an increase in time spent in front of their computers and phones, for reasons such as entertainment, online shopping or video games. The video gaming industry has been growing rapidly through the past few years with Covid-19 having a profound impact since March.
Even though many sectors have been negatively impacted due to Covid-19, the global video gaming industry has been thriving as many companies have seen a boost in their revenues. Many people have turned towards gaming as a distraction to being self-isolated. Adding to this, according to many studies, online gambling is considered as the biggest winner compared to other industries, during lockdowns, alongside with food deliveries.
The impact of COVID-19 on gambling
By the end of 2020, the online gaming industry is expected to have record-breaking revenues reaching $159b. Apart from the video games, many people have been reaching towards online casinos and fantasy sports betting where a tremendous growth has been seen.
Professional sport games have been cancelled or postponed and land casinos have shut down and a significant drop in revenues has been noticed. Nevertheless, the opposite occurs towards online casinos and betting sites as many people are embracing the idea of staying indoors and keeping distance from each other. Needless to say, online betting is much safer than crowded casinos and football stadiums. As mentioned previously, the cancellation of sport events has led to sport bettors finding an alternative way to bet on sports, for example many have shifted their demand towards eSports, which is played online and does not require participants to come in contact with each other. A mass number of sport bettors and casino players have shifted to online betting in order to satisfy their gambling desires. In addition to that, a massive hit on betting on more random events has been pointed out since the beginning of Covid-19. An increase on people trying online betting games such as fantasy sports, online slots, or poker has increased by on average 35% during the beginning of COVD-19 crisis.
Of course, many people who have lost their jobs are unlikely to spend their money on online betting. However, it is not as simple as that, many people are addicted to gambling, therefore just because casinos are closed it doesn’t mean that they are going to stop gambling. It is important to note that a Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.77% is projected to grow towards online gambling market for the period of 2020-2024.
As we all know, scientists are getting closer and closer into releasing the Covid-19 vaccine, so the question is, “will gaming industry continue to thrive or will demand go downwards?” Well, it is expected that the gaming industry will continue to have an upward growth trend. More and more people are registering to online casino games every day, which is one of the reasons for the steady growth rate and popularity.Well that contradicts the big debate that the online gambling industry is saturated.
Government regulations towards online gambling
As we are all aware of, the online gambling market is strictly regulated depending on each country. Government restrictions towards online gambling in America is in a certain degree unclear which leads to a limitation towards market growth. Due to strict government regulations, minimal market growth was observed in some regions, which is a huge constraint for casino owners to expand their target customer base. Countries in North America and Europe have experienced a significant growth on online gambling in the recent times.
Nowadays, more than 84 nations have legalized online gambling, which is one of the main factors that led to the major growth in the industry, with Europe holding the most significant market share as most EU countries have legalized online betting. Based on a recent study, countries such as Italy, Spain, India, Philippines, Belarus and the USA are the most promising towards future market growth in the online gambling industry. Adding to this, CIS countries such as Russia and Ukraine are starting to have a positive effect in regards to online gambling laws. On the other hand, countries such as Latvia, have blocked online gambling platforms. On top of that, it has been noticed that EU member countries have been rapidly expanding their online betting market compared to U.S., as online gambling is more established in the EU.
Due to the ongoing demand of online betting, many people have taken advantage of the situation in order to make money. Many people have already started to build their own online casino website and are in the process of obtaining their gaming license. Curacao and Maltese licenses are well known for those who want to establish their own online casino, Curacao license is the most suitable one as it allows to target 95% of the countries in the EU, compared to the Maltese license which has very high overhead costs.
Setting up your online gambling site
If you are intrigued by the growth of the online gambling industry and you are looking to develop your own online casino you are at the right place. We have ample experience in setting up e-Gaming structures, we can cover everything from the legal structure, payment system, tax advise and even assistance with developing your own online casino.
Please contact us below for a free consultation tailored to your needs.