by Robert Owens
COVID-19 has left a huge impact on the world economy, and the situation is getting worse every day. The US gambling and casino industry is not an exception. Brick and mortar casinos around the US were forced to close their doors to players to prevent the spread of the pandemic.
But, the online gambling industry has noticed opposite effects of the whole situation, as Australian online gambling guide’s article said. As most people are stuck in their homes, they have more time to gamble online. So, the online casinos report a drastic revenue increase.
Many land-based casinos provide online services and can benefit from the increased online activity. They offer their users a wide range of slots, table games, video poker, etc. Despite the restrictions for the land-based casinos, the online counterparts will save many businesses while offering their customers a chance to enjoy their games without worrying about their safety.
But, will the revenue from online casinos be enough to compensate for the huge losses caused by the closure of the brick and mortar casinos?
What Are The Estimated Losses for the Casino Industry in the US?
According to the latest AGA (American Gaming Association) report, if the land-based casinos across the US stay closed for two months, they will cause more than $21 billion in economic loss.
Most commercial casinos (94%) were closed by the beginning of April, so the closure of two months is the best-case scenario. As a result, half a million of the casino industry workers have lost their jobs, which makes up 96% of the entire gaming industry workforce in the US.
Their representatives demand packages from the White House and Congress with measures to save their businesses. In addition, the casino workers are estimated to lose $60 billion annually in total wages. Considering the fact that the casino industry generates more than $34 billion in total tax revenue every year, this will be a considerable hit for the US economy.
What’s more, half of these jobs are not even bound to the gambling business. Restaurants, local shops, and hotels are all part of US land-based casinos.
All Bets Are Off in the World’s Gambling Capital
Nevada shut down all casinos in the middle of March because of the new coronavirus, something that has never happened before. There were more than 1,000 COVID-19 cases and 30 deaths in Clark County at the beginning of April. As a result, the lights were turned out and the never-ending party was officially stopped in Las Vegas.
Nevada is a tourism-dependent state, with over 42 million tourists coming to Las Vegas in 2018. The first to close their doors were the massive hotel chains Wynn and MGM. Others tried to postpone their closure until the Governor announced it.
The casinos in Nevada will get a $454 billion assistant package from the $2 trillion bill relief plan passed by Congress. But, it’s still unknown whether it’ll be enough to help MGM Resorts, Sands Corp, Wynn Resorts, and other heavyweights to recover from this difficult situation.
Namely, the unemployment rate in Nevada will reach 30% at least, the Nevada Resort Association reports. More than 300,000 employees rely on $1.3 billion in salaries and wages every month.
The Shutting Down in Ohio
This was the last state in the US to have legalized gambling. Unlike the casinos in other states, the revenues of Ohio casinos have been worsening over the years. The brick and mortar casinos in the state were negatively affected by the rise of online gambling even before the coronavirus pandemic.
So, the local casinos came up with loyalty programs to promise their players extra benefits. As soon as they started seeing improvements, the coronavirus happened. Their promised benefits fell to water as people were now forced to stay home and gamble online.
Conclusion
The coronavirus pandemic may have a massive impact on the US economy, but we’re sure that once it’s over, people will start coming to Las Vegas again, and everyone will enjoy their favorite games in land-based casinos across the US, thus helping the economy to rise once again.
