What exactly is the gaming industry?
No matter how much you spend, the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas will not protect you from the coronavirus. This is also for a number of valid reasons. The majority of work in the gambling industry entails placing people in confined spaces or allowing them to touch goods that have already been handled by a hundred other people on the same day.
Casinos, bingo halls, betting and pools, lotteries, slot machines, and arcades are all examples of businesses in the gambling industry. The market is quite large, with 161 billion dollars in revenue in the United States in 2018. Internet gambling accounts for only a sliver of it, or $306 million, making it a negligible portion of the total.
Person-to-Person Gambling is Dangerous
As of June 5, 2020, the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California, which is located in Santa Barbara County’s Santa Ynez Valley, is preparing to reopen on June 10 after a three-month closure due to Covid-19. On June 5, 2020, this photograph was taken in Santa Ynez, California.
What happened next is something that we are all familiar with. Photos like the one above show how unusual it is to bet in this day and age due to the coronavirus. Because of the nature of casinos and other types of gambling establishments, a large number of people must be in close proximity to one another while also touching items in common use. Furthermore, several gambling establishments offer complimentary alcoholic beverages to their customers.
You might think that this makes gambling establishments of almost any kind unsafe, but not for the reasons you might think! Brick-and-mortar casinos in New Jersey were closed down in March of 2020, resulting in a 61.7 percent decrease in revenue for the state’s casinos during that month. At the same time, online gambling increased by 65.7 percent during that month.
The gambling industry, like the industries on which it relies, is suffering
Gambling offers a lot of instant gratification, which adds to the overall exhilaration of the activity. It is a well-documented issue with online gambling, and it explains, at least in part, the pitiful earnings earned by that sector of the industry. When you win at a casino, you have the option of receiving your winnings in the form of chips or cash. When you make an online ACH bank transfer, you must wait several days for the transaction to be completed.
On the other hand, I have the impression that the gaming-related publications that are now available online are missing something that should be obvious. Gambling, at least in the United States, frequently necessitates extensive travel. You must take a flight to another city, or travel to a Native American reservation in several southern states, where the laws are different.
Bettors aren’t the only ones who interact with the gaming industry. They can’t get where they need to go without the help of the aviation industry. They must rely on the nearby restaurants to satisfy their hunger. They rely on the hospitality industry to assist them in finding a place to stay.
Each of these three industries is also suffering greatly, with many businesses reporting noticeable drops in the quality of services they provide. If you had to take an inconveniently timed flight to Las Vegas, your only option will be to order takeout and eat it in your hotel at the strangely empty Harrah’s. Do you think that’s a fun way to spend your time? At every stage, the entire process of traveling to gambling destinations has been disrupted. Even the best-run casino will be unable to compensate for the terrible disruptions in customer service.
A Golden Age of Online Gambling Has Arrived, but Can It Be Maintained?
I just wanted to reiterate what I said previously about internet gambling accounting for a very small portion of the market. I went on to say that the experience lacked the adrenaline and instant gratification that gamblers crave, and that this was my main complaint about it. But, between us, let’s not sugarcoat things. Gambling can quickly turn into an addiction. Gamblers who are addicted to the game will always find a way to gamble.
However, it is important to note that the sale of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products is not as recession-proof as gaming. My hypothesis is that this is because one can gamble for less money while still receiving the same level of neuropsychological satisfaction, which is not the case when consuming alcoholic beverages or smoking.
In any case, the amount of money made through internet gambling has already increased significantly. However, the legal framework surrounding online gambling in the United States is extremely restrictive and varies by state. When this factor is combined with the time it takes to process payments, it is difficult to imagine online gambling ever surpassing the excitement of playing in person in the long run.
It is possible that the industry’s culture will change as a result of the significant increase in the number of people gambling online. When online gambling first became popular, it was common for inexperienced players to lose their money. This was because more experienced players knew how to spot newer players whose money could be easily stolen.
At some point in history, society changed, and fish stopped swimming with sharks. On the other hand, because many people are being forced to gamble online for the first time as a result of the coronavirus, I can’t help but wonder if the culture of online gambling will briefly resemble that of the dot-com era.
What do you think the gambling industry will look like in the next five years?
Based on what I’ve read thus far, I believe that in another five years, the gambling industry will, at least on the surface, be very similar to that of, say, 2017. It is true that more people will play online games. Having said that, I believe that the vast majority of the desired gaming experience can be obtained by physically visiting a casino or other gambling establishment.
In light of this, it is impossible to imagine that smaller casinos will be able to operate for extended periods of decreased revenue. I have a sneaking suspicion that the gaming industry will see a lot of consolidation in the form of mergers and acquisitions over the next five years. In the near future, the culture of those who work in the industry is likely to shift and become more business-oriented. However, it is unlikely that this will result in any significant changes for the individual players.