The coronavirus pandemic is gradually pushing the world’s economies into the next recession. While governments are busy doing their bit to somehow contain its effects, businesses across multiple industries are bearing its brunt.
People everywhere are staying away from crowds and are steering clear of places like shopping centers, markets, malls, streets, where they could possibly catch the infection. The overall result – even more stress on the already subdued economic growth.
Impact of coronavirus on the gaming industry
The gaming industry is clearly feeling the impact of Covid-19. Game Developers Conference which was scheduled for March in San Francisco has been postponed already. The new dates haven’t been announced yet, however, analysts are predicting a negative impact of the move on the gaming industry’s growth in the near future.
Brick and mortar casinos have been hit the most by this infectious disease. It’s common knowledge that the majority of people who patronise these casino establishments are tourists. Now that the entire tourism industry has gotten badly impacted owing to the curbs imposed by several countries, physical casinos have lost a major chunk of their business. Both Macau and Las Vegas have recorded significant slumps in their revenues, with the former crashing down by 88% in the month of February.
Online casinos are performing well
The main reason why online casinos are doing relatively well is that the majority of people are staying indoors and are venturing out only for emergencies. While for most businesses such behavioural change is resulting in losses, for online casinos it is working as windfall gain.
Online gambling has been registering impressive gains in the number of new signups over the past few months, all thanks to the convenience offered by such platforms. Another significant aspect which has contributed to their popularity is their openness to cryptocurrencies. Many of these new-age online casinos, including the top-rated Online Casino NZ gaming platforms, accept cryptocurrencies as valid payment / withdrawal methods, thus doing away with the need of dealing with conventional banking platforms. You can also check out Casino Martini.
Final word
It must be noted that the inability of governments to contain coronavirus’ spread is eventually going to negatively impact the global economy, and that includes the gaming industry as well. Covid-19 has already impacted popular gaming seminars, conferences, and events.
Additionally, research work related to the development of new casino games will also get hit, and the lack of new launches will also affect the support for the online gaming industry overall. There might come a point when the resources allocated for the online gaming industry might need to be redirected, trimmed or curtailed for the accomplishment of other objectives.
While all these are speculations, everyone will benefit from a cure for coronavirus at the earliest possible. That’s the only way that its dampening effects on the global economies would be reduced. Thankfully, the countries of the world are putting in concerted efforts for inventing a vaccine, and a breakthrough is only round the corner.