GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 48 - December 2020

With the absence of sports, betting companies became concerned about drops in revenue. Thankfully, esports stepped up and into the mainstream, filling the void and retaining millions of new bettors, even after conventional sports games restarted. Now, esports enjoys a growing segment of the market share and esports betting sites or integration increased notably. At Fast Offshore, for example, we found ourselves fielding a higher number of requests for assisting with licensing and other corporate services for esports sites and platforms. With people locked at home with little to do, the gambling mar- ket experienced unprecedented growth in Q1 and Q2 of 2020. Again, this led to a growing number of requests for licensing and corporate services, indicating a wider realization that the market is prime for investment. WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT IN 2021? In the long term, the global online gambling industry is expected to reach a staggering $127.3 billion in annual revenue by 2027. This is a compound annual growth rate of 11.5% per year. But what about the next year? It’s hard to predict what will happen in the next 12 months due to COVID-19, but as the industry has shown adaptiveness and quick adjustments to change, it’s expected that it can weather any storm. Increased mobile and tablet usage combined with easy and reliable internet access means that the number of younger users (aged 18 to 35) will continue to grow. Apps are likely to remain as one of the most popular ways to gamble with more moving away from in-browser versions or those that are only accessed via a PC or laptop. obody could have foreseen a year like 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic took the world by surprise and transformed the way we live, work, and how we do things. The online gam- bling industry was also impacted, but managed to retain its strength, adapting to the changing needs and demands of its client base. But what can we expect in terms of projections for the year ahead? Let’s take a look back at what was a tumultuous 2020, and what’s in store for 2021. WHAT CHANGED IN 2020? The year started much like any other. Industry stakehold- ers were predicting a bumper year with mobile gaming, blockchain gambling, and VR all looking promising for the year ahead. Sports betting was also predicted to have a good year with several big events taking place, such as the 2020 Summer Olympics, and regulation continuing to proliferate throughout the U.S. But in March, everything changed. Sporting events across the world were cancelled or postponed, stadiums went quiet, land-based casinos, lotteries, and betting shops closed their shutters, and billions of people entered lock- downs that lasted several months. The numbers of those accessing online betting and gambling sites increased significantly and many states reacted by imposing limits on deposits, bonuses, and advertising. With people locked at home with little to do, the gambling market experienced unprecedented growth in Q1 and Q2 of 2020 . . . This led to a growing number of requests for licensing and corporate services , indicating a wider realization that the market is prime for investment . With the absence of sports , betting companies became concerned about drops in revenue . Thankfully, esports stepped up and into the mainstream, filling the void and retaining millions of new bettors . . . Now, esports enjoys a growing segment of the market share . 33 G P W A t i m e s . o r g