round the globe generally and in Canada specifically, iGaming is booming, with long term popularity on the rise. But there’s more than one way to skin a cat, and money can be made via online casinos by investment rather than betting.
The Rising Popularity of iGaming
Investors shouldn’t be misled by the understandable, and perhaps one-off, spike in iGaming interest during the lockdowns of the COVID-19 crisis. Whilst a dramatic shift, this nevertheless occurred within the context of a positive trend for the online casino industry. At the start of 2019 that year was forecast to be full of potential growth for iGaming.
During early 2019 some of the stocks picked out to perform well included The Stars Group, and Cherry B. In 2020, at the time of writing, iGaming stocks showed in mostly positive territory, with both Penn National Gaming, Inc. and Caesars Entertainment Corp exceeding 12% returns over a 5 year period.
Playing or Researching Online Casinos for Canadians?
For anyone who is interested in either (or both sides) of iGaming, it makes sense to have a good grasp of the industry. By knowing what casinos have to do to attract and keep players, it’s possible to gain some insight into which stocks will do better. The good news is that the research can be fun in this case. Here are some of the best casinos to try out online, mainly for Canadians at the Online-Casinos website. Using welcome bonuses it’s possible to try out a wide variety of the latest cutting-edge slots, and table games like roulette and blackjack with little or no risk.
This should provide you with the opportunity to try before you buy so to speak, or at the very least, get a feel for a casino while you decide whether it’s a market you’d like to invest in.
Investment: Another Profitable Approach to Online Casinos
When one thinks of online casinos it’s natural to think of players dreaming of huge jackpots and finishing ahead. But, ultimately, the house has the edge and, by definition, players have to lose on average otherwise the business model wouldn’t be sustainable.
That same mathematical certainty does, however, open up another avenue to profitability via online casino sites (or iGaming). Online betting has risen consistently over the years, and investment is one long term way of potentially making money. A closely related form of gaming is social casinos, and the unexpected growth in this sector, which involves games of chance but no actual gambling or prospect of cash prizes, does suggest that it’s the games themselves that draw people in.
The COVID-19 Pandemic Effect
The most dramatic and severe impact of the global pandemic that swept across the world was of course the human toll, both in terms of those who didn’t survive and those who did but suffered ongoing weakened health. For most people, however, the disease’s impact was of a social and economic nature, with millions consigned to their homes, and work being reduced or suspended. This involuntary social isolation was exacerbated by many normal outlets for free time (visiting restaurants or pubs, and watching sport) also being suspended or severely limited.
Some sectors fared better than others. Those who work remotely may have experienced no professional impact at all, and certain areas boomed (interest soared in hand sanitizer and face masks, as it did for certain less obvious areas such as seeds to grow vegetables at home). Online casinos (iGaming) were another major growth sector, with interest increasing dramatically. This rising attention from the population was also helped by the widespread adoption of smartphones and the mobile platforms that many casinos online now offer.
Resilience and Future Outbreaks
Naturally, we all hope that the global pandemic can come to an end as soon as possible, with normality restored to business activities and social lives, and the medical risk to cease entirely. But this is not the first new disease to spread in recent years, merely the worst. In living memory we’ve seen both swine and avian flu emerge, and although the casualty numbers were thankfully far lower than in the 2020 outbreak, this does emphasize that new diseases spreading rapidly may happen again. In such circumstances, online business operations are inherently more robust than firms which rely upon land-based or person-to-person transactions.
It’s important to recognize that whilst the measures and consequences of COVID-19 and the fight against it led to increased interest in iGaming, this acute effect was merely a spike in a long-term underlying trend. And although land-based casinos are now recovering, this follows months of suspension during lockdown and requires social distancing measures. It remains to be seen whether further lockdowns will be needed during this or future outbreaks, but one thing is certain: iGaming will be far more resilient than brick-and-mortar casinos.
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