Wednesday saw the closure of all US commercial casinos, following strict guidelines issued by federal health authorities in a bid to contain the coronavirus.
By last Monday, the American Gaming Association had already reported that nearly 950 casinos in the United States had already closed their doors. By noon on Wednesday, 100% of the commercial casinos had shut down, with gambling facilities in South Dakota being the last to do so.
It isn’t difficult to imagine what a powerful impact these directives will have on the US casino industry, which employs just under 650,000 people across the country. According to the AGA, should COVID-19 keep casinos closed for two months, the industry could lose $43.5 billion.
The AGA called on the government to come to the aid of the industry as soon as possible.
“The federal government must act swiftly and comprehensively to get America’s hospitality employees, and the small businesses that support them, back to work as soon as it is safe to do so,” noted the president and CEO for AGA, Bill Miller. “Gaming employees, their families, and communities are bearing the brunt of this economic standstill and will continue to suffer if Congress and the administration don’t take immediate action.”
The sports betting industry has also taken a stunning blow, with all major sports leagues halted or postponed in the US and around the rest of the world.
ESPN.com quoted, Joe Asher, the CEO of William Hill US talking about the difficult times that the industry finds itself in right now. Asher said that the timing of the coronavirus was particularly bad, as it essentially “wiped out” March Madness.
He said that losing the NCAA men’s basketball tournament was “a real punch in the gut”, but that he believed that the industry would recover.
To try and retrieve some of their expected losses, sportsbook are offering odds on obscure markets, ranging from table tennis to sumo wrestling.
