Effect of coronavirus on the South African gambling casino industry

The coronavirus pandemic spreads its fluttering wings round the globe causing havoc not only to our daily life, but also on the economy and multiple business industries .As the virus preys on each country and their economy, could South African casinos also suffer as a result? Let’s have a look at the effects of coronavirus on the casino industry.

Effect Of Coronavirus On Gambling In South Africa.

Gambling operations in South Africa is drowning due to the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic which is slowly catching up with the rest of the world. The number of coronavirus cases in South Africa are increasing by the day and government and health officials are implementing the public health strategies such as the social distancing and the regular hand washing to help control the transmission. Also The South Africa president Cryil Ramaphosa decided to lock down the country to minimize the global spread, several casinos and gambling in all forms proves highly productive in South Africa, but with the ongoing turmoil due to the coronavirus ,the industry has shown to be immune to the economic impact that the virus has had to the rest of the world.

The Shut Down of Casinos

As part of the preventive measures to control the virus, there have been the shout down of business and industry activities. The gambling sectors; casinos are also victims. The most popular casino chain to be hit by the virus is Sun International Casinos which closed its Latin America gaming venues a week prior, closed its South African casinos, with local competitor Tsogo Sun following suit. Meanwhile Kenya Betting Control and Licensing Board had already issued a directive, ordering betting all betting shops and casinos to close and this directive is still in place as the country enters the fourth week of quarantine. Most gaming venues including horse racing tracks has been closed down. This a huge loss of revenue for the business and has led to many wonderings how much of effect the coronavirus would have on the future of gambling in South Africa and whether or not the industry will be able to recover.

With people spending more time at home, there are callings on the government to do more to encourage the use of fully licensed new online casinos for online entertainment. A renowned South African punter told BBC that the current lack of betting options meant they got to save a little more money. South African National Gambling Board issued a statement urging the public to avoid temptation to access unlicensed gambling operations which may still be operational despite the preventive measures in place whether physical or online platforms.

As online gambling gains popularity in South Africa during this time, this could be the perfect opening for several businesses to benefit. Though it will take time to obtain license in the area, we may see a rise in fully licensed online casinos during this ongoing time of uncertainty. Meanwhile the number of cases continues to rise as the World Health Organization are still collecting data on the virus, many are unsure of how long the lock down will last, Could it be only set to get worse?

Suspended Advertising

During this pandemic, the South African government has ordered for all adverts promoting betting or gambling to be taken off air. Casinos and all sorts of gambling are pulling all TV and radio advertisement during this pandemic, radio and television operators were ordered to halt all gambling and betting advertisements, this will be reviewed when the lockdown is called off. More than 20mps have called for strict curbs on gambling including a moratorium on advertising , calling the betting industries own proposals ’very weak’.

With many itching to get outside once again, we could see the market recover much more faster than many are expecting, most importantly when live sports and other events begin to get up and start running again. If you’re in lockdown at this time or you are still able to continue your everyday life the effect of the coronavirus pandemic are being felt around the world with no signs of slowing down, but how long will this pandemic continue to affect the economy?

About Post Author

Peris Wambu

“Hey, Peris here! I am enthusiastic about sports and gaming in general and a massive Liverpool fan. Every piece of writing you receive is brought to you by the power of countless cups of coffee!”

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Peris Wambu

“Hey, Peris here! I am enthusiastic about sports and gaming in general and a massive Liverpool fan. Every piece of writing you receive is brought to you by the power of countless cups of coffee!”