SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
COVID-19 has continued to have widespread impacts on both the sporting and betting industries, with H2 Gambling Capital data revealing that the pandemic has led to a 11% drop in forecasted global gambling revenues in 2020.
According to the gambling data specialist’s new weekly COVID Impact Tracker, 2020 global gambling gross win forecasts have been downgraded from $473bn to $421bn.
But despite the dismal retail forecasts, it has predicted that there could be an increase in online gambling activity, suggesting that the online sector could move from 13.2% to a 15.7% share of global gambling revenue.
According to the European Gaming and Betting Association, EGBA members generated €2.36bn in online sports betting revenue in 2018, which accounted for 44% of their total online gambling revenues.
“It’s sad that so many iconic sporting events are being cancelled or suspended and it will obviously have a negative impact on our sector. But the safety and health of the public is obviously more important and we fully support the sporting authorities and others in the difficult decisions they face right now,” said Maarten Haijer, Secretary General of the EGBA.
Currently major sports events suspended or canceled due to the virus include English football’s top division the English Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, Germany’s Bundesliga and the European Champions League, as well as The Masters golf major, and the UK Grand National horserace – all major events for European bookmakers.
