What a rollercoaster ride this was in the past six months. Back in January, it seemed to be just a “normal” year in the industry. Then Covid-19 changed everything, and as lockdowns spread around the globe and sports events were suspended, it became clear that this crisis would also hit the online gambling industry. And now as lockdowns end, optimism runs high in many regions, and business climate as well as growth expectations are back to pre-Covid levels.
Current business climate – Summer 2020
Online Gambling Quarterly analysts asked industry experts to assess the current business situation and their expectations for the next 12 months. For the current edition, they gathered the estimates and insights of 163 market insiders and experts, including a large number of C-level executives. With regular updates, this survey and its results serve as an industry barometer for the overall online gambling industry climate.
74% of the surveyed experts and market insiders assess the current business climate of the online gambling industry as “satisfactory” or even “poor.” Of those surveyed, 26% of the experts consider the current climate as “good.”
A downward trend that had already started in Q2/2018 (and was only temporarily halted in Q2/2019) had its lowest point during the Covid-19 crisis. But now in Q2/2020 as many lockdowns end and (real) sports betting is getting back, we see a return to near pre-Covid figures.
Future business climate – outlook brightens up big time
Regarding the future business climate (in the next 12 months), 47% of the experts surveyed believe that the industry climate will be “good,” an increase compared to the current “good” share of 26%.
Since Q4/2017, we have seen a decreasing percentage of experts assessing the future business climate as “good”, a trend that reached its lowest point in March this year. But it seems optimism is back and pushing the “good” estimate back to 47% – a positive value we have not seen since fall 2018. Also, the “poor” assessment decreased from “26%” at the height of Covid-19 down to a “normal” 10%.
