Throughout the dog days of the COVID19 pandemic, the overall U.S. gambling industry was hit as hard as any other industry in the country. The only thing that may have saved five states from total disaster was the fact they had already legalized and opened the doors to online casino gambling.
The five states included Delaware, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. While all five states took the hit on the retail side (brick and mortar casinos), their online casino business exploded. In several of these states, online casino gambling revenue and participation grew by as much as 250% to 300% year over year.
Of course, most of the growth can be attributed to a population of people who found themselves stuck at home with nothing to do but watch depressing cable news. It’s not at all surprising to find out that instead of trolling social media, hundreds of thousands of adults ended up trolling online casino reviews.
In each of the five states indicated above, the whole online gambling phenomenon started with online sports gambling. Unfortunately for the most ardent sports gamblers, major league sports fared no better than brick and mortar casinos. They had to shut down in hopes of stopping the spread of the virus. That left a huge roster of sports gamblers with only one available form of gambling, online casinos.
What the Future Holds for Online Casino Gambling in the U.S.
With MLB, the NBA, and European soccer back underway after the COVID19 sabbatical, U.S. sports bettors are back doing what the enjoy doing the most, betting on sports. Things should continue improving for them with the NFL scheduled to get underway next month. What does that mean for online casinos?
It is a certainty that the return of major league sports will have some impact on online casino revenue. What the industry will soon learn is how loyal new online casino players are going to be. Where online casinos figure to really benefit is from casino gamblers who won’t be in a hurry to visit Las Vegas, Atlantic City or any of their local brick and mortar casinos. There is a good chance that the online casino gambling experience has shown them the error of their ways. They do not have to jump on a plane or climb in the car when they want to play blackjack or slots. They now know they can enjoy such activities at home or while sitting in the local coffee shop.
The reality about life in America is Americans are going to be spending more time at home in the coming months and years. That is likely to keep online casino gambling on their radar.
As for the states that have not yet passed legislation that legalizes online casino gambling, it’s quite possible a lot of those states will be revisiting the issue if for no other reason than the possibility of pulling in additional tax revenues. It is not hard to imagine a year from now when 20 states will have legalized online casino gambling, and the industry continues booming into the future.