The iGaming sector has both benefitted and been challenged by the COVID-19 crisis, according to Enrico Bradamante, founder and CEO of iGen, the sector’s industry trade association.

“A big part of the gambling business is around sports betting so as soon as the sporting events got cancelled – football matches, horse-racing and so on – then immediately that business stopped,” he said. In terms of human resources, this has affected traders, specialists, analysts, and customer support, as well as other employees who earn their bread-and-butter through sports betting. 

However, he was quick to point to other product verticals which are currently benefitting. He pointed out that live casino is one of these, though he noted that, in some countries, in which a complete lockdown has been put into place – such as The Philippines and Georgia – trade, in these products, has also been wiped out. 

Further elaborating, Mr Bradamante said that, therefore, any potential negative impact on iGaming firms depended on their particular business profile, with some companies who don’t have sports betting, for instance, as part of their portfolio being impacted the least. Others, like Betsson, he continued, may have a sports component but their exposure was limited when compared to some of the larger European players, whose core business focuses on the particular product profiles impacted the most. 

In fact, “anything more purely online is less affected or is actually benefitting from the current situation,” he noted, referring to computer generated games, such as slots and virtual sports, which make use of a Random Number Generator (RNG) to determine play outcomes. “Of course, it’s different if you’re watching a real horse race or football match, but this is what people are moving towards”, he said. 

E-sports – otherwise known as competitive video gaming - has also seen an upswing in interest, he said. Indeed, Time Magazine has recently reported that viewership on Twitch, a video-live streaming service operated by Amazon and popular with gamers, was estimated to be up by 31 per cent in March.

However, Mr Bradamante underlined that “overall, the expectation of spend is down and expected to be less”, particularly as the world moves into a global recession. “People will lose their jobs. There will be less money around. So, even though players are more at home and have more time, people are being more careful with their money since there is that level of uncertainty,” he said. 

And, these changes have already resulted in some redundancies locally, Mr Bradamante said, revealing that at least two companies he knew of had to let staff go, as a result of the crisis, though he was quick to say that the numbers, here, have been small. "There have been a number of companies who have announced and carried out a few redundancies here in Malta, though with some, such as NET Ent, these were planned and prepared a long time ago. Maybe the current crisis has accelerated these movements, but these are a small numbers, and most of the companies are keeping their staff on,” he said.

This staff is mostly working from home, he continued, pointing out that many iGaming firms have closed offices or are encouraging their employees to be home-based. “Of course, this creates some technical challenges, security challenges, issues with internet bandwidth, and so on. But I would say that, by and large, the impact has been mitigated,” he said.

With regards to the new measures announced by the Government, Mr Bradamante said that the trade association was in dialogue with the authorities and have explained “in great detail with numbers and facts all the dynamics”. He stressed that the remote gaming sector does not expect the same help as the tourism industry. “You have to give that the priority, and that’s understood,” he underlined.

Yet, he also said that “there’s always financial measures that the Government can put into place to support iGaming companies help their employees. The expectation is that the Government will recognise the impact, which is not as big as the tourism industry, but it’s not zero either and that some measures will be put into place to support those affected.” He also mentioned that iGen was discussing specific items with the authorities, though he was not at liberty to reveal what these were, simply saying that they are financial in nature. 

Looking ahead, Mr Bradamante pledged the industry’s commitment to the island. “As an industry, we have a big responsibility here in Malta. We are the largest sector after tourism, and, if you write that off, then the iGaming sector becomes the largest. So, it’s very important that we continue to be committed to Malta and that we continue to contribute to Malta,” he said.