COVID-19 closed several casinos and led many people to stop going out, leading to an enormous reduction in gambling revenue.
However, the casino industry adapted quickly. They increased advertising on social media and television while also instituting new rules to protect players against unfair terms and conditions, misleading promotions, and rigged games.
Impact on the Global Economy
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major havoc to the global economy, lowering economic growth and prompting widespread business closures, particularly those affecting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). According to OED’s estimates, COVID could lower GDP growth by half a percentage point for 2020.
High-income countries may be better prepared to withstand the impacts of the pandemic, while low and middle-income nations are experiencing far more serious impacts that could even result in total economic collapse.
Gaming and eSports companies became more prominent during spring 2020 as millions of people stayed home during the initial pandemic stage. Their rise in prominence sparked curiosity about their returns in comparison with other sectors during this crisis period. This study employed a logit-probit model to analyze variables related to COVID-19 outbreak such as market volatility, global Google attention on pandemic development and daily returns from gaming exchange-traded fund (ESPO).
Impact on the Local Economy
Casino employees play an essential part in local economies, whether playing a game or working behind the scenes. When the COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread shutdowns and job losses for casino employees worldwide, their jobs were lost. Casinos from Las Vegas to Atlantic City and tribal regions around the globe rallied together and found ways to support their communities: making donations to charities and food banks, offering vaccination services in gaming facilities, providing safe spaces for workers to work remotely from, among other strategies.
Our Yelp Economic Average report clearly illustrates how COVID-19’s actions altered local economies dramatically. Cities reliant heavily on leisure and hospitality (like Las Vegas and Orlando) experienced sharp increases in unemployment while more resilient industries like technology (in Seattle and San Francisco) or government (Washington D.C.) experienced more modest job losses. It’s evident: COVID-19 rearranged local economies just like public health threats do, creating lasting changes after COVID-19 has passed into history.
Impact on Jobs
As casinos closed down, it was expected that many jobs would be lost; however, this wasn’t the case as most employees managed to find alternate employment – often moving to different parts of the country or taking on different roles; others even found work with companies specializing in providing gaming industry services during lockdown periods.
Leisure and hospitality jobs were among the worst hit by COVID-19 recession, as these jobs tend to be low-wage part-time positions that tend to fall on Black women, Hispanic men, and AAPI workers disproportionately.
The pandemic has led to an upsurge in online gambling activity, as many individuals who had never gambled before are now experiencing its thrills for themselves. This trend has caused concern among organizations dedicated to problem gambling as it can increase psychological stress and financial strain, compounded by further gambling activity. Although online gambling rates have seen an increase due to pandemic exposure, most increases occurred among vulnerable groups prior to its spread.
Impact on Travel
COVID-19 has had an outsized effect on one of the cornerstones of global economy: travel and tourism. Estimates estimate this sector contributed over $5 trillion dollars in 2019. But due to government restrictions limiting international travel, its contribution dropped sharply.
Nationally, travel, tourism and outdoor recreation jobs have decreased by more than 50 percent compared to their pre-pandemic levels; particularly women and younger workers have experienced job loss as a result.
An International Tourism Partnership survey indicates that businesses in these sectors have experienced substantial financial loss as a result of cancelled bookings and other impacts of the pandemic. Furthermore, owners have experienced psychological stress as they encountered difficulty building relationships with clients, suppliers, employees, and employees as well as feelings such as depression, apprehensions, anger boredom restlessness nervousness. Many have sought counseling services in order to manage these effects.
