In the early days of coronavirus pandemic when the lockdown started, the entire stock market suffered, including the share prices of UK gambling operators.
The cancellation of all major sports events resulted in cutting off the otherwise stable sports betting revenue that many British bookmakers had been depending on such revenue generated not only from horse racing but from betting on football matches, which normally involves small stakes but quite high volumes, as well. The uncertainty that followed in the next few months was even more concerning.
Sports, however, and football, in particular, have returned under strict conditions and with no audience, but the fixture calendar is already making up for the time lost during the extensive lockdown. On the other hand, larger gambling companies with a strong offering in online casino and poker games have seen a significant increase in the traffic of their gambling websites, as the lockdown of physical gambling venues pushed people to start gambling more online.
In a few days, the largest online gambling company, Flutter Entertainment, is expected to provide the latest update on its performance in the six months ending in June. The company, which currently owns Paddy Power Betfair, has proved itself as one of the most resilient operators in the gambling sector, mostly due to the diversity of products and the variety of markets the company is present on. This gives Flutter Entertainment massive head start to some of its rivals, which still remain strongly reliant on their sports betting customers in the UK.
The UK Government Set to Start Reviewing the 2005 Gambling Act
Thanks to the acquisition of The Stars Group, Flutter Entertainment expanded its offering with PokerStars, one of the leading poker brands on a global scale. The operator also improved its casino range and currently has a significant presence in Australia. According to analysts, these factors made Flutter one of the gambling companies with the strongest and most stable performance while the UK was under lockdown.
Apart from that, Flutter Entertainment owns one of the largest fantasy sports betting websites that has over 8 million customers to date, FanDuel. The brand operates in the recently-liberalized US sports betting market, where Flutter Entertainment has been willing to establish a remarkable presence.
Some market experts have predicted that the coronavirus pandemic would probably result in faster legalization of sports betting across US states that have not done it so far. According to analysts, online casino legalization might follow.
The above-said helps explain the reason why Flutter Entertainment’s value is about 40% higher now in comparison to the one at the beginning of March 2020, while some of its market competitors, such as William Hill and GVC Holdings have been facing some financial difficulties during and after the Covid-19 lockdown.
The situation in the UK gambling market is not easy, especially considering the lengthy lockdown experienced by the companies that operate in the sector. So far, 2020 could be described as one of the most important and challenging years in the entire history of the UK gambling sector, which has always been a leading one on a global scale. By the end of the year, the UK Government is also expected to start the review of the 2005 Gambling Act, which would probably pose more challenges and bring further questions regarding the further performance of gambling market operators.
- Author
Daniel Williams
