iGaming Could Take A Coronavirus Hit

COVID-19, better known as the Coronavirus is an epidemic that is quickly on the verge of becoming a global pandemic according to the World Health Organization that has infected over 100,000 people (at the time of writing this article). The Coronavirus is also disrupting virtually all industries due to troubles maintaining supply-chain demand. This is felt a lot more with businesses that have depended on China and other countries on the Asian continent, as Asia has been hit the hardest with the virus, to-date. 

According to H2 Gambling Capital, one of the leading data and intelligence providers for iGaming, 2020 revenue projections will be updated due to the Coronavirus outbreak. 

As mentioned, the highest number of infected people reside in Asia and has impacted gambling tourism in Macau and Singapore, drastically. In Singapore, games of fortune gross wins in 2020 come in at US $388m, which is 88 percent lower than the totals in 2019. 

It's not just Singapore and Macau taking a hit, with Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, and South Korea all expected to lose a lot of gambling revenue. 

It may seem like only land-based gambling operations are in danger of losses, when in fact, online gambling is already feeling the burn. There have already been major sports events postponed and are even in danger of cancellation, something that would affect global sports betting revenues. 

There are still talks about canceling or postponing the Tokyo Olympics this summer, which would be felt across the board. 

A Potential Silver Lining?

With people being quarantined, canceling travel, many businesses like hotels and even being closed due to fears of spreading the virus, Las Vegas will surely lose a large sum of revenue due to decreased tourism from China and other countries that have been denied access into the US. This could be an opportunity for online casinos to make some extra revenue with players looking to play games of chance. While sports betting will almost certainly be affected, online casinos could stand to earn in light of global fears. 

Online and mobile gambling can be done from home, which makes it a great alternative for those that want to play it safe.