The COVID-19 pandemic has forced people to stay at home. That has resulted in a massive traffic boost for online casinos. Find out the details for the increase here
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way people go about their daily lives. Experts advise people that they should do most of their shopping, film-watching, and even socializing online. This means that people now spend more time on their computers and mobiles than ever before.
Therefore, it is completely logical that the businesses that operate online are the ones that thrive the most during the pandemic. The online casino sector has been a particularly popular form of entertainment during the pandemic. People are flocking in large numbers to legal online casino sites and, as a result, legitimate casinos worldwide have seen a massive traffic increase during the lockdown.
However, despite the increase in online casinos’ traffic, some countries, including Pakistan, still consider online casino gambling to be illegal. This is a big loss for these countries as they are missing out on an excellent source of revenue.
Online casino perks
The increase in popularity of online casinos is not something that has just happened overnight. The online casino industry was welcoming millions of players even before the pandemic struck.
The best online casinos come with lots of benefits over landbased casinos and other platforms for online and offline wagering. For instance, the online casinos shown on bestcasinosites.net/pakistan/ are all licensed and regulated by reputable international licensing bodies, have tons of high-quality games, and boast a myriad of enticing bonuses.
Add to those the variety of payment methods, the multitude of customer service communication channels, and the options for using mobile wagering apps and you instantly see why online casinos are in high demand during the pandemic.
Increased Internet penetration
Online casinos come with tons of benefits and that is crucial to their increase in popularity during the pandemic. However, there is also one other thing that contributes to online casino sites getting record-breaking numbers of visitors. That is increased Internet penetration and Pakistan is a good example of this.
Pakistan only had 6.3% of its population using the Internet in 2005. In 2012, the internet penetration percentage was still quite low compared to Pakistan’s population growth and was around 10%. However, that percentage steadily increased over the next years and rose to 15.51% in 2017.
Unofficial data says that this percentage increased to around 30% during the COVID-19 pandemic and this is a clear indicator that Pakistanis have no other option but to go online during this time of crisis.
Easy-to-play games that give instant gratification are just what the doctor ordered during stressful periods such as a pandemic. They are an excellent way to keep you in great mental shape during a lockdown and that’s why they are an obvious choice for lots of stressed-out people.
How different countries have benefited from legalizing online casinos
This massive increase in traffic prompted many countries to start thinking about legalizing online casinos as illegal casinos are a problem for both the country and the people who play there.
The country misses out on an excellent source of income by not legalizing casinos and, by extension, putting taxes on the industry. Similarly, casino players have to play in a hazardous environment and risk being fined or imprisoned when gambling at sites deemed illegal.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. You only need to look at countries that have legalized online casinos to see that this is the case.
For instance, online gambling was illegal in the USA up until very recently. However, this didn’t stop Americans from playing at offshore casinos that accepted them. And this was a problem.
As soon as US authorities realized this, they started thinking about legalizing online gambling. Some US states are still thinking and weighing the pros and cons, but many others have legalized online casinos and are now reaping the rewards. Here are just some of the benefits that these states have reported:
- Online casinos are much safer for payers;
- New jobs have been created;
- Added income for the country;
- Lots of taxes that boost the economy;
- The amount of illegal gambling decreased dramatically; etc.
The advantages of legalizing online casinos don’t stop here. There are also some less obvious gains for countries such as slowly decriminalizing the casino industry. It is a well-known fact that criminal syndicates like to operate in unregulated markets. Once that market is regulated, it suddenly becomes less appealing for criminals as they lose their competitive advantage.