By
Jane Shaw
Senior Editor Updated: 01/02/2021
We count on Jane to inform our readers about the latest slot games in the US market. With her passion for video games and a degree in engineering, she’s our gambling tech expert. Jane’s also active in our blog section, where she tackles the curiosities and changes in the industry.
Online Gambling
As everyone knows, 2020 has thrown up some unprecedented challenges for businesses and individuals across the planet. As in other countries, the United States has experienced devastation in many ways because of the COVID-19 global pandemic. This includes a huge negative impact on businesses and state economies.
With businesses being forced to close and more people becoming unemployed, finances and the economy have been devastated. Among the businesses that were forced to close for several months were hospitality businesses including casinos. This resulted in not only a loss of income for the operators and many job losses but also a loss of taxes for states.
Online gambling is not legal in all states across the country. However, it is legal in many areas, and there are more and more states now getting on board. One of the key benefits of online gambling over the course of this year has been that operations have been able to continue regardless of any lockdowns and restrictions.
Speaking about the closure of casinos earlier this year, Bill Miller from the American Gaming Association highlighted the impact. He said:
Gaming workers, their families, and small businesses that depend on us have all been hit hard. And our states and communities are feeling it, too. In addition to COVID’s impact on businesses, jobs, and the well-being of our families, friends and colleagues, state budgets have been decimated by the pandemic.
Some states where online gambling was already legalized and in full swing by the time the lockdown was imposed in March have found that it was invaluable in terms of propping up local economies.
Many people who were locked down at home because of the pandemic turned to safe online entertainment such as online casinos during this time. This generated a lot of revenue for online casinos, which in turn resulted in more taxes for the state.
In states where online casino gaming is not yet legalized, however, the consequences of casino closures have been huge. Some states, such as Nevada and New Jersey, earn a huge amount of money from casino taxes, but with casinos closing for several months, this had a huge impact on state finances.
In addition, even after they reopened, casinos had to operate with stringent new measures in place, which further impacted both casino finances and state income.
Many states could be further impacted over the coming months due to the second wave of COVID-19. This has already prompted some gambling states to take action and either further restrict or close casinos and other hospitality businesses on a temporary basis.
This will undoubtedly serve as another blow to casinos, workers, and the states in question. However, for those states where online gambling is allowed, the blow will be softened considerably because they will still be able to earn a considerable amount of revenue from online gaming activities.
For states where online gambling has not yet been legalized, however, the impact of a second round of closures could cause further devastation.
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