Wazzup Pilipinas!
It may go against all believes and logic to say that any type of gambling would increase during times where a lot of people are suffering economically. I will, however, make the claim that what’s happening right now is actually beneficial for the eSports betting industry.
Not everyone will gain from the pandemic though
As you may or may not know, eSports betting in the Philippines is highly popular, though once the pandemic is over only a portion of the industry may be left, if any at all. The country’s online gambling industry has already faced concerns about tax increases and even threats about being banned completely.
With lockdowns happening as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, several online gambling offices have been forced to shut their doors as the government have considered their businesses unessential. Reports have told us that many operators are gone for good and that expansion plans have been cancelled.
What’s happening may even be the tipping point for the suggested ban to take place in the country. In other words, it’s not looking great for the Philippines.
But other markets aren’t having the same issues
Malta is widely known for its online gambling with hundreds of casino and sports betting companies having their headquarters on this tiny Island which is one of the world’s smallest countries. Here, the pandemic is yet to strike as hard as the country relies on its gambling businesses. People still go to work as usual, unless they work from home which has become quite a common thing.
But just because businesses aren’t shutting down, how could this ever mean that eSports betting is increasing during the pandemic, which is what I am claiming?
It all boils down to the fact that people will watch more eSports
It is already known that more and more people are getting interested in eSports, which is due to increased media attention, Twitch streams and an overall increased interest in gaming. With the pandemic many people are either working less than they used to or working from home, which frees up a lot of time either way. This translates to time that can be spent on gaming and watching streams.
Of course, not everyone will magically get into the world of eSports, but those who are already interested in gaming (which is a lot of people!) and are locked inside have limited things to do. This will naturally lead to an increasing number of people finding their way to competitive gaming and we already know that people love to bet on sports whether it’s soccer, basket or games.
Adding one plus one together and we get the reasoning behind my thoughts of people being more likely to bet on eSports during the pandemic.
But aren’t people less likely to spend money during these times?
Those who have lost their jobs probably are. However, gambling is one of those things that actually do quite well during recessions. Research shows that casino gambling stagnates during economic crisis, while lottery gambling remains intact or even increases (which happened in Iceland in 2008 when three major banks went bankrupt).
As eSports betting is quite a new phenomenon, we don’t know a lot about how it behaves during recessions. However, my belief is that it will increase due to the fact that people have more time to spend in the gaming vertical and the fact that eSport tournaments continue to be hosted as they do not have to be held live.
It may go against all believes and logic to say that any type of gambling would increase during times where a lot of people are suffering economically. I will, however, make the claim that what’s happening right now is actually beneficial for the eSports betting industry.
Not everyone will gain from the pandemic though
As you may or may not know, eSports betting in the Philippines is highly popular, though once the pandemic is over only a portion of the industry may be left, if any at all. The country’s online gambling industry has already faced concerns about tax increases and even threats about being banned completely.
With lockdowns happening as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, several online gambling offices have been forced to shut their doors as the government have considered their businesses unessential. Reports have told us that many operators are gone for good and that expansion plans have been cancelled.
What’s happening may even be the tipping point for the suggested ban to take place in the country. In other words, it’s not looking great for the Philippines.
But other markets aren’t having the same issues
Malta is widely known for its online gambling with hundreds of casino and sports betting companies having their headquarters on this tiny Island which is one of the world’s smallest countries. Here, the pandemic is yet to strike as hard as the country relies on its gambling businesses. People still go to work as usual, unless they work from home which has become quite a common thing.
But just because businesses aren’t shutting down, how could this ever mean that eSports betting is increasing during the pandemic, which is what I am claiming?
It all boils down to the fact that people will watch more eSports
It is already known that more and more people are getting interested in eSports, which is due to increased media attention, Twitch streams and an overall increased interest in gaming. With the pandemic many people are either working less than they used to or working from home, which frees up a lot of time either way. This translates to time that can be spent on gaming and watching streams.
Of course, not everyone will magically get into the world of eSports, but those who are already interested in gaming (which is a lot of people!) and are locked inside have limited things to do. This will naturally lead to an increasing number of people finding their way to competitive gaming and we already know that people love to bet on sports whether it’s soccer, basket or games.
Adding one plus one together and we get the reasoning behind my thoughts of people being more likely to bet on eSports during the pandemic.
But aren’t people less likely to spend money during these times?
Those who have lost their jobs probably are. However, gambling is one of those things that actually do quite well during recessions. Research shows that casino gambling stagnates during economic crisis, while lottery gambling remains intact or even increases (which happened in Iceland in 2008 when three major banks went bankrupt).
As eSports betting is quite a new phenomenon, we don’t know a lot about how it behaves during recessions. However, my belief is that it will increase due to the fact that people have more time to spend in the gaming vertical and the fact that eSport tournaments continue to be hosted as they do not have to be held live.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
