As the COVID-19 pandemic is taking a toll on sports betting, gambling companies are now urging their customers to play online casino and poker games. This measure could help these companies cover some of their losses from the cancellation of sporting events, which were expected to bring in massive revenues.

GVC chief speaks out

GVC chief executive Kenny Alexander spoke out on the issue and said that moving its customers to casino games from sports betting is working well for the company. The Ladbrokes Coral owned said that they are not looking for closing the business even though most major sporting events around the world have been cancelled.

Gambling groups are now spending on television advertising of casino games and are encouraging their customers to shift from sports betting. Alexander also talked about virtual racing products are also popular. These products were first developed when disease caused UK horseracing events to be cancelled.

Gambling technology provider Playtech remarked on Thursday that online poker and bingo games are gaining popularity.

Could the industry change forever?

While GVC suggests that it is seeing some success with online casino games, experts warn that the cancellation/postponement of sporting events could fundamentally change the betting industry. This change would be visible most prominently in the UK where the government is cracking down on the gambling industry and creating stricter rules for operation.

Regulus Partners’ Dan Waugh said that this could be the end of the usual ways of the gambling industry. If the government keeps giving loans, it would own most of the gambling industry and it would not want to let it get back to its old ways.

He also predicted that there could be an increased number of gambling-related disorders which could fuel more backlash against the industry. People who are at home could play casino games for longer and with a large number of people practicing social distancing and staying home, this could be a very real possibility.

GVC earned £3.7 billion in revenue last year of which 45% was contributed via sports betting. With the cancellation of betting events, they could take a £150 million hit on their earnings. If its high street betting shops started shutting down, the number would increase to £50 million per month. Betfair and PaddyPower’s parent company Flutter Entertainment is expecting a £110 million reduction in its full-year earnings. Closing down the Ireland and UK shop estate would result in another £30 million in lost earnings per month.