Back in March, the coronavirus sent shockwaves around the world, leading to the closure of many businesses and industries.
The Sports industry was also not spared. Summer Olympics, typically one the world’s most-watched sport, was postponed to 2021. Major football leagues and competitions around the globe were cancelled leaving stadiums empty. Every aspect of sports was affected, from athletes to football teams.
Two months later, on 16th May, the German Bundesliga returned, and the English Premier resumed on 17th June, while Italy’s Serie A continued on 20th June. France, Scotland, Portugal, and the Netherlands have decided to give up on their football seasons and wait until the virus stops spreading to start afresh. UEFA has postponed Euro 2020 until the summer of 2021. As a result, the women’s European Championship set for England in 2021, has been pushed to 2022. The men’s World Cup is to be played next in 2022. Qualifying matches in some countries have already been postponed. The Chinese super league, Asian champions league, and the Turkish super league have all been suspended until further notice.
With the absence of football and other major sports events being cancelled, the sports betting industry is feeling the effects of COVID-19. With no sports, there is no sports betting. The betting market faces unprecedented challenges, and no one can say with certainty when national and international games will fully resume. This has left Sport betting companies looking for alternatives where their clients can place their bets while keeping them entertained. They are introducing political bets, TV shows stakes, and looking to smaller and international sports events still playing, like marble racing, horse racing, Russian table tennis rugby, and Australian A-League soccer.
Online casinos are reporting increased online activity as sports bettors look elsewhere to bet. They are gambling on online casino games. And with multiple casinos having mobile-phone platforms, online gambling is much easier since they provide instant access to roulette wheels, slots games, poker tables, and some of the virtual sports.
Hopefully, more football leagues will follow Bundesliga, EPL, and the Italian Serie A and resume their seasons. The Spain league returned two weeks ago after a three-month break. Turkey continued its season on 12th June and aims to complete it by the end of July. Turkey also plans to host the Champions League final in August. The silver lining is more football clubs are planning to restart playing, and the fans are eagerly waiting.
