The Coronavirus impact on Sports

These are troubling times as the Coronavirus spreads around the world. Sport has been an area in which there has been massive disruption. Event after event is being postponed and more are likely to be hit as the crisis deepens. This is also having an affect on the gambling world as we try to find something to gamble on.

They say that Friday the 13th can be an unlucky day. That proved to be the case this month for sports fans. Throughout the day there was one major announcement made and it wasn’t good news. All football in England, the Champions League and Europa League, as well as other top European leagues were suspended.

The earliest that these leagues could resume is early April. However, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to worsen, that is an optimistic date to set. It’s likely we could be going months without top level football, something only a World War has caused in the past.

Whoever sat down and compiled the 2020 Sports Calendar must be feeling rather sad now. The calendar has been decimated but it’s a situation that is far more than about not having games to watch.

The gambling industry has several problems to solve, especially when it comes to football betting. We all love to place bets on the top football games so what will happen while the top leagues are suspended? Thankfully, we have a huge number of online betting sites that can provide us with gambling opportunities.

If this had happened a few decades ago, the situation would have been even worse than it is now. In the present day we have online gambling sites that cover sporting events from all over the globe. There are still many leagues that haven’t been suspended so there’s still something to bet on.

It’s like the time when the snow fell, and UK horse racing was cancelled. We suddenly found ourselves betting on French meetings or trotting events in Scandinavia. That will be the situation now and we will find ourselves betting on games in South America, New Zealand, Malaysia and Pakistan to name but a few. It’s possible that reserve and youth games could become more important due to them being played in front of small crowds or behind closed doors.

This isn’t a crisis that is just going to go away in a few weeks time. Euro 2020 and The Summer Olympics are also under threat. The latter is still scheduled to take place, but the former is unlikely to take place. This really wasn’t the year to have a European Championships with 12 host countries.

Gambling will continue though but in different ways. Virtual sports and Esports are likely to become more popular in the coming months. Bookmakers will do their level best to provide us with betting opportunities. The names of those taking part may not be very familiar but statistics will be available to help with selections and after all, a win is a win.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.