Tihana Jurican of Global Betting and Gaming Consultancy argues that a new quarantine phase can extend the pandemic’s misery. Still, with gradual gambling expansions approved in the US in November, demand tends to be the one that the industry doesn’t have.
Demand and recovery in the global gambling industry
In the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the play industry and the rest of the world continue to face unprecedented challenges. Initial lockdowns have shut down retail games, followed by limited capacity reopening and sometimes a limited number of resources available to keep society at a distance. The number of infections has risen in different jurisdictions, from Hong Kong and the Philippines to Romania and the United Kingdom in Florida and Manitoba.
However, there was a reason for optimism. Some industries have reopened with better than anticipated performances. After the November elections, several new industries were legalized in the US.
In the US, many industries have demonstrated a more substantial than anticipated recovery amid capacity constraints. Casino revenues rose YoY in South Dakota in all three months, Q1 2021. (July- September). For the year, the overall growth rate was 6.1% YEW. As a result, GBGC has grown from $115 million to $137 million in its annual forecast of 2021.
In Louisiana, a solid July (also the first month of the fiscal year 2021) helped to raise overall Q1 sales for the bar, truck, and racino machines by 2.2 percent, despite an annual decline in August and September, compared to the same quarter of the fiscal year 2020.
Annual growth ranged from 16.2% to 23.6% YES in the three months following the opening in Illinois Video Gambling Machines in Bars (July- September 2020).
In Ohio, both casino and racino revenues increased every three months from July 2020 with rates of between 2% and 7% YY in racinos and between 5% and 22% in casinos.
Nebraska voters reversed a ban on casino gaming in the November election following several attempts. Around 2/3 of the voters endorsed three constitutional amendments that allowed casinos to operate on six approved horse racing tracks.
The voting in Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, and Portsmouth allowed four casinos in the November elections. In Richmond, there will be the fifth casino to vote in 2021.