As the UK Government ordered a complete shutdown of all non-essential establishments from 23rd March 2020, land-based casinos and bookmakers sustained a direct jab in the business that was closed till after June. Many companies reported rebuff of up to 50% net gaming revenue (NGR) within the 5-months.

Remote online gambling seemed to have saved the industry from the worst effect of a recession, as casino websites are bombarded with increased activity coming from people looking for lockdown entertainment from home. Yet still, the bigger downfalls could not be prevented. Major sports events like the Tokyo Olympics and Premier League got postponed, moreover, from April, punters are even prohibited from using their credit cards, thus limiting the expenditure of customers.

But despite the crisis, operators are looking for ways to catch up to the revenue, adapting to the changing landscape, which is radically the new normal.

Resolves & Obstacles

Remote gambling may be the new answer, but is it a solution overall?

Remote Gambling has picked up the pace to recover the backlogs caused by the 5 months of business shut down for the greater half of casino establishments. Within a span of 5 months, there have been 80 new Vulkan Slots, new game releases and online gaming events that are getting a good response. All industry biggies like Microgaming, NetEnt as well as new and fast-growing providers like Evoplay Entertainment are considering it as the best time to release their most engaging slots that will be received well with customers.

The challenges are too many because not all casino establishments operate remotely. This pandemic has all but resulted in raising the competition for land-based casinos against online casinos. And this is not going to curb down, even as the lockdowns are lifted now.

According to recent data released by the UKGC, the GGY for online casinos increased by 115%, mounting up to £217.5 million within a span of 1 month from May to June, while the land-based casinos, have over 27% of the loss.

From another aspect, the easy availability of online casinos on mobile phones and the ample amount of free time have posed a hidden risk for high-rollers and avid gamblers, for it can become a potential problem for them to develop an addiction. To respond to this threat, several MPs in the UK came with the solution to ban credit card bets to keep gamblers safe from irresponsible gambling and mounting up bills that they can’t pay. And since a large number of punters use credit cards for casino investments, this has contributed to the revenue loss.

Can Remote Gambling Save the Day without Traditional Sports Betting?

The major part of sports betting is missing in action, with both horse racing and football games being wholly stopped, which amounts up to about 75% of the market, which is now down. Many casino sites have shifted their base to eSports betting and created the kind of environment that will yield maximum player activity. From aligning super speedy websites to launching levitating mobile apps, more and more online events are being conducted to revive the revenue, and it is working.

William Hill, which is among the leading online and land-based betting casinos has closed over 100 of its high street betting shops to curb costs. The shops are now permanently closed.

With most offices being closed and new guidelines of social distancing preventing workplaces from going 100% workforce, but on the flip side, most casinos are back in business with remote support, game designing, and online meetings conducted to ensure that good content is released on time, and it is reaching out to the target audience.

While theoretically, eSports betting can be set up in a digital environment, one practical problem with this system is that online platforms cannot match the number of spectators an actual sporting site would have. The number of people that will gather for the Premier League or a Horse Racing event will be manifold greater than what an online casino would have all at the same time. Therefore, land-based sports betting can yield more money, given the same amount of time.

Looking Forward to Premier League 20-21 and Other Sporting Events

This year’s Premier League 2020-2021 is set to begin this September 12, 2020. And with this sports event bookmakers are looking to recover a large portion of the NGR, which is acquirable.

While the Olympics and UEFA Euro Tournaments coming back in 2021, bookmakers, as well as industry experts, are highly hopeful that the revenue can not only be backed up, but also surpassed.

Conclusion

The COVID-19 has caused some of the worst hits to the UK’s gambling market. But you can find certain upsides to the crisis as well.

Land-based casinos are here to stay, and online cannot possibly push it to extinction. But it is about time that land-based establishments understand the power of online and find alternatives to digitize their company, to be prepared for the future.

Author's Bio: 

John Smith is a Digital Marketing Consultant with more than 8 years of experience in SEO, SEM, SMO, blogging, etc having wide knowledge base into content marketing.