What the opening of clubs and casinos will have on the online casino market

Though the online gambling industry took a big leap during the COVID-19 pandemic, everybody is questioning whether the industry will stay like that after the opening of clubs and casinos. The coronavirus outbreak engendered the closing of all land-based gambling facilities in 2020. Because of that, all gamblers shifted to online platforms to continue gambling.

During the pandemic, even traditional gamblers belonging to the Generation Y turned to online gambling. However, people are wondering if the massive client base that the online gambling industry captured during the pandemic will stay put even after land-based gambling facilities open.

Though there were several challenges for the online gambling market, it still expanded to an impressive extent in the last couple of years. Key challenges that the market faced in the beginning included increase in cybercrime, legal and regulatory problems, lack of personal interaction etc. These challenges remain. However, the market is still growing.

If we take a look at the market dynamics of the last 5 years, we see that the massive customer base gained by the online gambling industry can be chalked up to many factors in addition to the closure of land-based gambling facilities in March 2020.

In recent years, the number of internet users has incredibly increased. Additionally, the number of online casinos and increasing access to data has also contributed to the inrush of gamblers in the online market.

Other factors include increasing investment in technology, use of cryptocurrencies as a payment method in iGaming, variety of gaming options etc. Casino game selection at Casumo is plentiful and easy to get started.

According to a report launched by Global Poker, a research firm, the online poker industry has expanded 43% since the onset of the pandemic. This pushed governments all around the world to moderate their country’s online gambling laws.

The online gambling market took a giant leap due to the legalization of online casinos in many countries around the world.

The latest statistics show that the market size of the online gambling industry is expected to reach $92.86 billion in 2023. It is further expected to grow to $113.12 billion by 2025 at 10.4% CAGR.

Online Gambling after the Reopening of Clubs and Casinos

Though land-based casinos have opened in most of the cities around the world, not every casino in the traditional gambling world has opened its doors. The ongoing trends in the gambling industry can be used to predict whether the reopening of casinos will strike the online gambling industry hard or not.

Recent figures show that online gambling continued its performance in the United States even after physical casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas opened their gates.

Nine casinos reopened in Atlantic City in April. Figures released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement show that these casinos took approximately $108 billion for the online gambling industry.

These nine casinos have managed to stay afloat for more than three months now. However, many gamblers that used to play in these casinos did not return.

According to Jane Bokunewicz from the gaming institute of Stockton University, online gambling revenue was slightly down in April and traditional gambling revenue was slightly up.

Things have changed significantly since April. The number of COVID-19 patients and vaccination rates seem to be in the right direction. And since everybody is returning to a life of normalcy, people are going to prefer traditional gambling over online gambling in areas like Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Macau etc.

Since the expansion of the online gambling industry cannot be attributed to the lockdown only as its growth predictions precede the outbreak, the reopening of clubs and casinos will not steal all its customer base. However, a giant part of the online gambling revenue will be seized by land-based casinos.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or the management of EconoTimes