The rise in online gambling in the Netherlands: can the COVID-pandemic be the cause?

How online casino’s have gained their popularity in the Netherlands can be attributed to a number of different factors. The fact that pretty much all the casino’s, bars and other evening pastimes were closed, meant that people had to fill their evenings in other ways. So how did the corona pandemic contribute to the rise of online gambling in the Netherlands? We will tell you all about it here.

Corona

Earlier this year, all physical casinos were forced by the corona virus to close. Even with locations that were available 24 hours a day under normal circumstances, the light went out for a few months. This was an uncertain time for employees of gambling options and gamblers. The industry soon told that the reopening would take place at the earliest in September. This creates uncertainty about the thousands of employees of Dutch casinos, and many gamblers were disappointed.

Downsides of the corona pandemic

Where it remained dark in the physical gambling halls, gambling lovers saw opportunities in online gambling. The online casinos like onlinecasino.nl could continue to receive visitors, making it possible to play games as online roulette, blackjack and poker. This gambling lovers the opportunity to play their favourite casino games from the comfort of their own home.

Profit from corona time

Since July, two months earlier than expected, the major players, such as Holland Casino, are open again. Where these companies have suffered a loss in sales, the turnover of online casinos has risen. Research from the Center for Responsible Games shows that 40% of gamblers will start gambling online and spend more than before the coronavirus.

And for good reason: online casino’s have a lot of advantages. You can do everything from home, which is ideal for people  who live far away from casino’s, are physically disabled or have other reasons that make them unable to go. Also, online gambling has been made legal in the Netherlands which ensures the safety of the players. So this excuse can also not be used anymore.

Research

A survey with around 2,000 respondents of the online gambling platform online roulette confirms these figures. They too see a significant increase in the number of site visitors and the expenses. All figures are in the plus: existing visitors are more gambling, a lot of new visitors have been added and the average spending is higher than before.

Future of casinos

Whether the higher visitor numbers and rising trend is still the question. Now that the casinos are open again, it is expected that gambling enthusiasts return to the physical casino. However, due to the corona measures, however, one speaks of another experience in the casino. There is only a limited number of people allowed, tables are designated by the staff and there are other restrictions in the game. At the moment it is therefore still unclear where the preference of gamblers will go in the coming months.

Hopefully everything, including casino’s, will be able to stay open permanently again anytime soon, which will help the casino business big time. Nevertheless, online casino’s have a lot of advantages which will probably make sure that they will remain popular even after the normal casino’s re-open.