According to the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), the COVID-19 (coronavirus) lockdowns will lead to less, not more, online gambling.
Citing Belgian government statistics, which show a 38% drop in traffic to licensed gambling sites, the EGBA claims the widely cited spoke in lockdown player activity is “unfounded.”
In a blog post EGBA Secretary General, Maarten Haijer, asserted that because almost half of European online gambling is sports betting, the worldwide suspension of traditional sports is seeing bookies web traffic and revenue tumble.
Haijer also took a swipe at the draconian advertising restrictions being introduced in several European countries, saying:
“This is contrary to what many predicted and disproves the concerns about dramatic increases in online gambling, which have underpinned the recent introduction of severe advertising restrictions in some European countries.”
He did, however, acknowledge the importance of safer gambling policies and procedures during the crisis, saying that online gambling companies should make sure responsible gambling tools are readily available to customers.
AYO.NEWS says:
Haijer’s comments are clearly an attempt to dissuade regulators from introducing more restrictions on the online gambling industry during the crisis, though he is somewhat missing the key point. That being that the crisis is affecting the online gambling industry very unevenly.
Clearly, those operators very reliant on traditional sports betting are being most severely affected, while those more focused on online casino are seeing traffic and business hold up relatively well. Meanwhile, specialist esports betting operators are actually doing record business.
However, it isn’t quite that simple. As we’ve seen in Nektan’s case – those businesses that are reliant on financing or heavily indebted, even if their accounts were getting healthier, have suddenly seen access to financing disappear as the unprecedented global economic crash takes hold. For the same reason, some esports organisations are now struggling, despite a massive increase in interest in esports.
As we’ve said before, everything will depend on the duration of the crisis. Up until this point, most in the business have expected everything, including traditional sports, to “go back to normal” by summer. However, it is now becoming clear that, even if some lockdowns are partially eased in certain locations, global mass travel and sporting events will likely be affected for a long time, as social distancing measures and many restrictions could remain in place for years.
AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.
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