Nothing in the recent past has paralyzed the world like the Coronavirus.
It appears that this disease has single-handedly managed to cripple all aspects of society. People are hoarding supplies at grocery stores and are huddling at home so that they do not catch or spread this illness.
The world of sports gambling has been crippled as well!
There have been unprecedented cancellations around the sports community, which is hitting the betting industry extremely hard.
Year after year, spring is the time of great excitement when college basketball fans prepare for March Madness.
Everyone scurries to complete their brackets and earn some money by betting on the NCAA games.
Unfortunately, this will not be part of the 2020 season. The organization was forced to cancel the men’s and women’s basketball championships.
Alongside this decision, the NBA and NHL have also suspended their seasons.
Last year, approximately $8.5 billion was tied up in wagers throughout March Madness. Over 47 million Americans participated in some kind of sports betting.
New Jersey gaming operations alone collected $32 million for this tournament. The American Gaming Association claims that Nevada sportsbooks normally handle $500 million each month on sports gambling.
Now that things have stalled, questions swirl about the fate of the betting industry.
William Hill CEO Joe Asher explains that certain individuals are still gambling through organizations like the OFC and the Japanese Baseball League.
However, the timing of this crisis is what has hurt gambling the hardest. His organization expects zero revenue for the immediate term. This is absolutely astounding.
In the recent past, there has been nothing that has come close to causing such disruption and devastation.
Besides gambling, Asher recognizes that this is an “extremely difficult time” for all sports lovers, especially those who turn to sports as a distraction from bad times. Taking sports out of society has left little respite from this pandemic.
Besides basketball, other sports have been put on hold, which also affects the betting world.
For example, the Kentucky Derby, which was scheduled for the middle of March, has been postponed until September.
The WWE has banned fans from attending Wrestlemania. NASCAR has canceled races until May, and MLB has delayed the start of its season by eight weeks.
Even the 2020 Masters has been postponed to comply with CDC recommendations regarding the Coronavirus pandemic. This tournament has been held in April since WWII and is a clear highlight for gamblers who bet on golf.
Soccer leagues have postponed play overseas. The Premier League suspended the season until April.
All of these events account for a great deal of sports betting, and each delay or postponement has had a crippling effect on gambling.
What happens now? How will sportsbooks deal with further bets during this period of time?
Everyone is trying to make sense of the situation while protecting the safety of staff and betting individuals.
Certain places are removing futures markets on suspended leagues. Also, some are refunding money related to canceled tournaments.
It will take a while to adjust to this pandemic. Hopefully, the industry can weather the storm until a bit of normalcy returns.
