Jacqueline Cheney
In March 2020, when the new coronavirus spread around the world, the majority of sporting events had to be canceled. And then, a change began to take place in the online gambling industry globally.
The Gambling Commission has released new statistics on how Japan’s gambling industry has been affected by further tightening of lockdown measures in response to the novel coronavirus. The data covers both online gaming and consumer research from March to November 2020. Data from licensed online gambling operators (LBOs) was not available in November as lockdown restrictions tightened and many employees were laid off. This data will be collected again once the LBO resumes operations.
Data from consumer research shows that there are still no signs of a significant and sustained increase in gambling behavior during the COVID-19 period. However, research has found correlations between the impact of the pandemic on people’s finances, mental health, and increased gambling.
The latest data for November 2020 is as follows.
“The online gambling market saw a 3% increase in active accounts and 4% month-on-month growth in wagering. ) fell 13%, slot GGY increased 3% to £177m, bets increased 4% to over 5.2bn, active accounts increased 1% to 2.8m, and COVID-19 It was the highest number since the virus outbreak.
In October and November, the number of online slot sessions of 1 hour or longer increased by 3% (2.2 million), 1% higher than the total growth in the number of sessions. Average session length increased by one minute to 22 minutes, about 8% of all sessions lasting an hour or longer. “
Given this information and past pandemics, we believe that site operators need to be more aware during the current nationwide self-isolation period. With a prolonged epidemic, more restrictions, and growing concerns about personal livelihoods and economic conditions, more people are spending more time at home, feeling more isolated and suffering from mental illness.
Some players, such as habitual gamblers who play all kinds of gambling games, may spend more time gambling than usual. Sports games are also continuing during the lockdown, giving players more opportunities to bet. Under such circumstances, there must be some people who started to challenge gambling for the first time in their lives.
The other day, in this magazine, we asked the site operators to reconfirm the guidelines that we presented in May, and to recognize once again the obligations and responsibilities that we should fulfill in this era when the whole country is forced to face difficulties. I urged you to do so via email.
The Gambling Commission will continue to monitor the risks associated with the spread of COVID-19, examine the effectiveness of instructions to site operators, and collect and distribute the data obtained.
Your offline casino business will be adapting to new constraints, and we are here to help. Should the data show that consumers are exposed to new risks, further measures will be required to protect the offline gambling business.
