COVID-19 hit the world by stop early this year and forced nations to ground their economies and enter lockdown mode to curb the rapid spread of the virus. During this quarantine period, the gambling industry also faced a lot of uncertainties. Here’s a list of the best no deposit casino bonuses.
The effects of quarantine on the popularity of gambling are mixed. The popularity of land-based casinos declined as a result of the closure or partial closure and restrictions placed on them by the government to halt the spread. Online gambling on the other hand grew in popularity during the quarantine period.
The soaring popularity of online casinos is not a new trend, online gaming options have grown in popularity over the last couple of years. Experts predicted that slowly online gambling will surpass the heights of land-based casinos. What no one predicted is a global pandemic situation that will skyrocket online gambling even further in popularity.
The restrictions played on land-based gambling has made online gambling the only solution for players who want to enjoy their favorite gambling games and win money from it. Gambling companies reported a surge in new players during the quarantine period.
Changing Gambling Habits
The COVID-19 lockdowns helped to change the gambling habits of players around the world. The notable habit change is the switch from offline gambling to online gambling. Already, online gambling was experiencing a boom in popularity, but when COVID-19 hit the world in full force, governments scrambled for cover and hurriedly enforcing lockdowns on social gatherings in the hope of curbing the spread of the disease. Popular land-based casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada, and other places in the world were shut down or had its activities restricted.
Online gambling grabbed hold of the opportunity to increase its popularity and took the center stage. The very nature of online gambling makes it resilient to global pandemics and lockdown restrictions.
One, online gambling is done in a virtual space and not a physical location, except live dealer games. Live dealer games follow the lockdown restrictions as there are barely up to 10 live dealers in a room playing the games.
Two, online gambling has integrated mobile gaming to make it more accessible to a larger number of people. According to statistics, over 70% of the world population uses a mobile device. In many developed countries, it is as high as 90%.
Many people also prefer to use their mobile devices to play games or surf the net. The portability of mobile devices is an advantage for players, as they can carry them anywhere and even play gambling games in the toilet!
Many land-based casinos opened online gambling sites to profit from the growing popularity of online gambling sites.
The Decline of Sports Betting
During the peak of the quarantine period, major sporting leagues and events were postponed or canceled as part of a lockdown measure. This negatively affected the popularity of sportsbooks. These top sporting events such as the English Premier League, NBA, American football matches contribute to the majority of the activities that happen on sportsbooks.
With their suspension or cancellation, sportsbooks experienced a decline in patronage and earnings. As part of efforts to stay relevant, eSports and fantasy leagues advertising was pushed but the gains could not be compared to the same level of earnings and popularity that the world’s most popular sporting leagues and events brought.
The quarantine period was a bad time for sportsbooks in general. Many sportsbooks reduced losses and a significant drop in profits.
Increased Online Casinos Popularity
Online casinos gained tremendously from the quarantine period. The popularity of online casinos soured in this period. Many folks who played land-based casinos could no longer play as a result of restrictions to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unable to play in land-based casinos, online casinos presented an opportunity for these players to access the games they enjoyed playing.
Many online casinos offer Live Dealer games, which work similar to land-based casinos, except you are not playing but watching dealers play while you make your bets.
The booming popularity of online casinos reflected in the surge of new players during the quarantine period to online casino sites.
Online Gambling and Addictions
There are fears that online gambling is not doing enough to help players with gambling addiction problems. Online gambling offers many advantages such as an on-demand gaming experience. This easy accessibility can be a curse for someone struggling with gambling addictions.
Some online gambling sites are offering support services to help gamblers deal with their addiction. There is only very little gambling sites can do, the onus falls on the player to deal with the addictions.
Conclusion
The popularity of gambling during the quarantine period soared for online casino sites and declined for land-based casinos and sportsbooks.