COVID-19 Pandemic Effect on the Economy: Experts Say, Annual Revenue Is Not Expected to Exceed That of 2013

17.04.2020, 11:27

H2 Gambling Capital, which is one of the leading consulting companies in the gambling industry, predicts that by the end of 2020, world gambling revenue will be lower than it was in 2013. Apparently, all of this is because COVID-19 continues to damage this sector of the market.

In the tenth week of monitoring the impact of the coronavirus outburst on the industry, H2 predicts an annual global gambling revenue decline of 15.6%.  Two weeks earlier, the company had forecast a decline of 13.6%.

What does the figure of 15.6% mean? According to the report prepared by H2 Gambling Capital, the worldwide gambling industry had brought in about 472.6 billion dollars. As of now, the worldwide gross margin for 2020 is projected at $399.6 billion, which is 15.6% lower than the forecast made before the pandemic had a significant impact on the industry.

H2’s fears about the negative impact of the pandemic were confirmed after most American states reported their data for March. Thus, in early April, it turned out that the figures in industry players’ reports are 60-65% lower than their pre-crisis forecasts.

As might be expected, the global COVID-19 pandemic has weakened revenues in most industries, and the gambling industry is no exception. However, online gambling segment indicators have increased compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic, yet the revenue growth for the past two weeks had also slowed down significantly.

Because of the general self-isolation regime around the world, interest in online services and online sites has increased. H2’s report on the development of the online share of worldwide gambling gross during the outbreak of the epidemic shows that the share of digital technologies in total world gambling income in 2020 is 16.5%. This figure is similar to the estimate given to the industry two weeks earlier.

If we look at the global picture, the biggest downgrade of gross gambling revenue over the past two weeks has occurred in Europe, in which you can observe a decline of 13.6%. As of today, the forecast is as follows: in Oceania and Asia, which were the first to be affected by the pandemic, the revenues will be 18.7% below the pre-crisis estimate. In North America, they will be 12.6% below the pre-crisis estimate.

Further H2 projections are highly dependent on the IMF’s World Economic Outlook Report. The report provides analysis and forecasts of IMF staff regarding economic changes at the global level. It focuses on significant economic policy issues, as well as analyses of economic change and prospects. Thanks to this report, H2 Gambling Capital will be able to build new hypotheses regarding the global gambling industry’s gross revenue. Currently, the 2020 global economy is predicted to recede by 3%, which will be even more severe than 2009’s recession. As of the morning of April 14, the total number of people infected with coronavirus worldwide was 1,920,618, of which 119,687 died and 449,949 recovered.