COVID strikes at India’s traditional casino industry

Team Udayavani, Feb 11, 2021, 10:02 AM IST

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Few industries escaped unscathed from the damage of COVID-19, and the gambling industry within India was no exception. Formerly one of the most reliably successful forms of business, restrictions based on the virus caused serious problems within traditional physical casinos. This wasn’t the case for all arms of the casino industry, however, with online variants seeing a continued strong performance.

India’s Physical Casino Industry

Despite its size, India has been home to relatively few mainstream casino parlours. According to current stats, there were only around 21 active licensed casinos at the start of 2020, spread over 11 cities. The majority of these casinos, 15 in total, operated with attached hotels.

When lockdown first instigated on March 25, all standalone casinos were closed due to the virus threat, a fate which was shared by those operating with attached hotels. It wasn’t until May 18 until some hotels in green zones could open, though casinos would remain on lockdown. It wasn’t until the first phase of unlocking on June 1st that major opening would begin, with others continuing to open in areas where the virus was contained. The effect of these lockdowns on the industry was financially straining, but not enough to cause any recorded permanent closures.

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India’s Online Casino Presence

Operating without concerns of physical proximity, online casinos didn’t suffer the same effects as their offline counterparts. Rather, the unavailability of physical casinos combined with the greater number of people locked indoors could have had a net positive effect on online casino engagement.

The most popular of these Indian online casinos like Wheelz and ComeOn which can be found on Superlenny India! managed to draw in new players in the lockdown months, while staying popular for established gamers. For newcomers, bonuses like free spins and deposit matches might have even illustrated an online advantage over offline variants. While the long-term effect of traditional casinos reopening could cause player numbers in online casinos to dip, some industry professionals are predicting a permanent transference of many towards the digital frontier.

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Economic Considerations

With COVID putting a strain on many countries’ finances, there are possibilities that casinos, especially those online, could be seen as a salve going forward. At this moment, online gambling within India is legal, though it often falls within the nuanced areas of definition. This means that while players can fully engage, the government isn’t receiving all the tax benefits from online gambling as they do from physical premises.

Long term, it is possible for the government change to reconsider the general online presence when it comes to goods and services. This would help draw money back into COVID recovery efforts, and create a healthier overall gambling environment.

Of course, these types of law changes take time and require significant scrutinization to go into effect. Whether India’s government has the time or will to tackle such things in the current climate remains in question, though in the future. At the very least, when the long-overdue rewriting of 2000’s Information Technology Act comes into reality, online gambling may see some changes.