Global gaming to fall eight per cent in 2020: H2

H2 Gambling Capital, a global market intelligence and research firm, is expecting the global gambling market to fall eight per cent in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, the biggest fall in nearly 20 years.

“COVID-19 has already had a significant impact on China’s gambling market and those of neighboring Macau and Singapore. Macau’s February 2020 games of fortune gross win came in at just MOP3.10bn, just under 88 per cent lower than the corresponding level in 2019.”

H2 has also revised its forecast for Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea, with a fall of 4.8 per cent compared to its pre-COVID-19 forecast. According to the research firm, the SARS outbreak in 2002/2003 did not have anywhere near the impact on the global gambling industry.

However, the movement restrictions caused by the virus is likely to contribute to the growth of online gambling, with global gambling gross increasing from 13.4 per cent to 14.7 per cent in 2020. This could increase to 15 per cent if the outbreak lasts into the second quarter.

Source: Asia Gaming Brief