When 2020 started, the gaming and betting industries were on track for a great year. ICE London 2020 was showcasing some promising new technology and it looked like the gaming sector would continue its upward trajectory in 2020. Unfortunately, the unexpected arrival of the COVID-19 virus flipped everything on its head. Almost every sector was impacted in some way, and the gaming and betting sectors were no exceptions.

Casinos, especially those located in major, tourist-reliant cities, like Macau, saw the biggest impact, with reported revenue loses by as much as 97% year-on-year due to the impact of COVID-19. However, it wasn’t just casinos that suffered, as the suspension of most sports meant that bookmakers also saw losses. William Hill reported a 57% year-on-year decline in net revenue due to the virus, and in August, Veikkaus, the Finnish monopoly operator in this space, projected a loss of over €300m in profits in 2020.

There’s no escaping the fact that the gaming and betting industry has been hugely impacted by COVID-19 however, in other areas of the sector the story has been very different.

Welcome to the digital world