The world of sports is on a cancellation spree to adhere to the physical distancing advisory and prohibitions on large gatherings. The sports betting industry has been taking millions of dollars’ worth of hit every week as there are no sports to bet on.

An opportunity missed

2020 could have been the year when sportsbook operators like FanDuel and DraftKings broke out of their limited reach and captured wide interest across the US. Both companies, alongside the likes of BetMGM, are looking to get licenses in all states that have legalized sports betting. However, the lack of sporting events has left its existing markets to bleed.

Now sportsbook operators are left with only a handful of options- presidential debates, table tennis, and esports competitions. DraftKings, which was planning to become a publicly-traded company, is also being forced to rethink its action plan for the future. All major sporting events- Major League Baseball, NCAA March Madness, National Hockey League, PGA Tour, and NBA have been canceled. Sportsbooks in New Jersey alone lost nearly $370 million in sports bet last month.

PlayNJ.com’s lead research analyst Dustin Gouker said,

“Shutdowns from the coronavirus pandemic are affecting New Jersey’s gaming industry in ways that are unprecedented, and that will continue until the country begins to return to some semblance of normalcy.”

Betting on table tennis and presidential debates

Online sportsbooks in the US have to come up with innovative ways to keep their customers engaged. The NFL Draft could be a major draw for bettors this week. According to The Action Network’s chief content officer Chad Millman, there are about 150 proposition bets on the Draft, which is 3x higher than the normal number. Bet-NJ.com suggests that the NFL draft handle will grow by 5x to $5 million dollar this year and leave the industry with about $500,000.

DraftKings and FanDuel are providing expanded bets to users, including “over/unders” bets for the number of players from one college drafted into the team. There is not much in terms of sporting action because of which the operators have had enough time to research on the odds.

Table tennis has been an interesting draw for sportsbooks in the last month, said Johnny Avello, the head of the sportsbook at DraftKings. As international table tennis matches are the only sporting events continuing during lockdown times, users are shifting their focus on the game. DraftKings is even taking bets on the twists and turns on TV shows like Real Housewives of New York. Presidential debates will also be up for bets.