Rain, shine, regulation issues or pandemic, it seems nothing stops the UK sports betting industry from moving forward with new plans to evolve and find additional ways to turn a profit.

That being said, there’s no question that 2020 has been one of the more challenging years, even for the giants of the UK sportsbook sector. Beyond the lockdowns of physical betting shops as well as football and other major sports leagues shutting down for three months, regulation is always a concern. This is especially true when it comes to the protection of underage and problem gamblers.

For instance, recently, the Gambling Related Harm All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) called for a ban on gambling advertisements in the UK. The issue the APPG has isn’t specifically related to the ads themselves, but the serious negative effects they may have on individuals who are trying to distance themselves from the industry due to gambling-related problems, addiction or any other reason.

Still, even with the ongoing pandemic and the threat of tightening regulations, UK bookmakers, particularly the industry’s big bookies like BetFred, William Hill, Ladbrokes and Coral, to name a few, continue to push forward with the hopes of making 2021 a more profitable year than 2020.

Betfred Hopes to Make it Big in the US Betting Market

Taking a look at Betfred, this isn’t an operator that is keen to put all of its eggs into one basket and is quick to find new revenue streams whenever given the chance. For instance, it jumped on the mobile betting bandwagon years back when it became available and now the brand holds one of the most downloaded betting apps in the UK market. Meanwhile, Last year (2019), it entered the US betting market with big plans for its Betfred USA operations.

Even though Betfred USA had not yet launched online when everything shut down due to the pandemic, once Iowa casinos reopened and they launched in Colorado, the sport that has brought Betfred the biggest action in the US market has been MMA. While this certainly pales in comparison to the big US team sports such as the NFL, NBA and MLB, once these are back in full swing next year, the company expects to see an uptick in volume.

William Hill Intends to Merge its Retail and Online Businesses

William Hill is another big bookie making the news. William Hill is set to merge retail and online businesses according to a recent announcement made by the UK operator. Phil Walker, William Hill’s UK online managing director has announced that he will take over responsibility for the UK Single Market Division and will work alongside the head of the retail division, Nicola Frampton, during a six-month transition period before Frampton steps down.

The merger is William Hill’s new plan to overcome regulatory and economic obstacles, including the betting restrictions decision on FOBT in 2019, which resulted in the shuttering of 713 of its betting shops.

Ladbrokes and Coral Re-open Betting Shops

Wasting no time for the opportunity to welcome back profits from their physical betting shops, GVC announced the re-opening of its Ladbrokes and Coral betting shops in England back in June. Since 15 June, all 2,455 shops in England have opened their doors with the ease of the pandemic lockdown in the UK.

That said, new health and safety measures have been put into place to support social distancing and additional hand sanitizer stations. Moreover, there are pre-shop opening checks as well as clear guidance on maximum customer occupancy levels, which are based on the layout and size of each shop. GVC is gearing up to make the most of the remainder of 2020, readying to welcome in a more revenue rich 2021.

All in all, it will be interesting to see what other new steps UK bookies – big or small – will take to ensure that next year is a profitable one.

Given how devastatingly hit the casino business has been in the past few months, it should come as little surprise that casino operators around the world are hurriedly reopening their doors at the first opportunity.

Revenue reports from March to July – effectively when the novel coronavirus had spread across the planet and forced countries to impose severe lockdown measures – made for grim reading in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia.

In Nevada and New Jersey – the biggest casino hotspots in the US – recorded losses of up to and more than 90 percent compared to the same months in 2019. In the UK and mainland Europe, the figures were similar, while Macau – the gambling capital of the world – saw three successive months of revenue drops over 90 percent.

While online operations have seen a surge as millions of people have been forced to stay at home, that makes no difference to the many people whose livelihoods depend on land-based casinos opening their doors and welcoming customers. Indeed, thousands of jobs have been lost and thousands more are still at risk.

So even as Covid-19 continues to plague many countries, casinos have understandably started to open their doors once again.

The United States – the country where the pandemic has hit harder than any other – has allowed casinos to reopen, even as new cases cross more than 50,000 per day. In Las Vegas, Nevada and Atlantic City, New Jersey casino floors are once again welcoming guests, while casinos across the United Kingdom reopened on July 4.

Las Vegas has also reopened its sportsbook operations, so guests can visit to get the latest Kentucky Derby odds (although you can find them online easier through TwinSpires.com). You can place wagers on races and sports that, like the casino business, also went into lockdown but are now re-emerging.

Meanwhile, in Macau, casinos have also reopened but the mandatory 14-day quarantine for foreign visitors has severely limited foot traffic. The same applies to other countries like Singapore, South Africa, and Monte Carlo.

While casinos have resumed operations in an attempt to bounce back from a financially damaging few months, they do so amid a new normal for operators and visitors alike.

Strict rules and health measures have been put in place to ensure the safety of guests and staff and to limit the potential spread of the coronavirus.

Maximum capacity limits range between 20 and 30 percent and face masks must be worn at all times. Drinking, eating, and smoking have been banned for the time being, while temperature check points and hand sanitizer stations have been placed all around casino floors. Glass barriers have also been placed around table games in some casinos to prevent the spread of germs between players and dealers.

Those guests returning to casinos may also notice higher gambling minimums or at least fewer options of lower minimum games. This is thought to have been introduced for two reasons. Firstly, it is viewed as an attempt by many casinos to drive revenues up as quickly as possible and secondly, to deter some players to ensure going over the imposed limited capacities.

Even with the many restrictions in place and the pandemic still raging on, the economical decision to reopen has helped to address growing unemployment in casino-focused cities and towns.

For instance, the union representing casino workers in New Jersey reported that in the first few days of reopening, between 20 and 30 percent of union members got their jobs back.

As measures loosen and capacities gradually increase, more people will be able to return to work after months of struggle and uncertainty.

It had been deemed callous to talk about reopening economies and getting people back to work during the early stages of the pandemic and when the death toll was rapidly increasing. But as the crisis continued and there was a realization that ‘normal’ would not return for the foreseeable future, then tackling increasing poverty as a result of the outbreak has become an inevitable priority.

The casino business is just one of many industries that rely heavily on visitors and tourism, and its cautious reopening shows that life must go on in the current climate, even if ‘normal’ is some way away from returning.

Plenty of reports have surfaced in recent times over the increase in the number of people taking to online gambling sites during lockdown across the world. Yet, what hasn’t been touched on just yet is the number of illegal platforms that have cropped up recently, too. Yet, Australia has just released details of the increase in the amount of illegal online betting sites springing to life during these tough times.

Despite Australia’s government going all out in a bid to block such sites from penetrating through to the country’s gamblers, it seems as though offshore sites are once again targeting such players in their masses. According to analytics from SEMrush, the number of searches for “online pokies” within Australia went through a swift leap in April to 40,500, which is massive in comparison to February’s result of 12,100.

Even more than that, an increase in the search for “online casino Australia real money” spiked by 540%, showing that the country still has quite the desire to gamble, despite strict gambling laws being in place there.

It was only a few months prior that the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) ordered its internet service providers (ISPs) to block 52 illegal online casino sites. Those platforms remained blocked to Australia gamblers, but this hasn’t stopped numerous other offshore and illegal casinos and sportsbooks to appear during lockdown.

Australia Fighting a Losing Battle?

Some might suggest that the Australia government is fighting a losing battle when it comes to blocking access to offshore online gambling sites. There are so many in existence, that by the time they finish blocking them, plenty more will have opened their virtual doors. While it’s not specifically illegal to play online casino games in the country, it is illegal for websites to provide Australians with that sort of service.

This is different to nearby country New Zealand, where online casino gambling is licensed and regulated. That’s why it’s possible to find various lists of the best bookmakers in New Zealand, as these are fairly commonplace to residents. Yet, Australia is a bit more conservative when it comes to the accessibility of such. Could Australia learn from New Zealand’s setup? Well, possibly. But, it does seem like Australia has a bigger problem with people becoming addicted to gambling, in general.

That being said, research does suggest that the number of people in Australia participating in online gambling declined during the months of March and April this year. However, those who were accessing gambling sites did actually end up spending more money than normal at them. This doesn’t fare well for the industry in general where Australia is concerned, as the government estimated that last year, citizens lost around $400 million by participating in online gambling expeditions.

However, statistics did display that participation in gambling at offshore platforms prior to the pandemic had been on the decline. Unfortunately, that seems to have now become a little irrelevant with more Australians looking to satisfy their gaming needs while having nothing better to do with their time at home.