The global pandemic, which affected the world in 2019, aroused great interest in online gambling. Land-based casinos were closed, and people who gambled offline transferred to online casinos.
In 2022 players have more options: real money games and their free versions like online pokies at https://777pokies.casino/game/gems_respin. With increasing numbers of low deposit casinos, free play, and no deposit casinos, gamblers can enjoy a demo version of almost any slot game.
A wide selection of games, convenience, and compatibility with mobile devices led to an increased interest in online gambling.
We want to find out whether COVID-19 caused addictive behavior among players all over the world or it’s just clickbait.
How Often Do People Gamble?
Statistics say that there was a dramatic increase in the number of players during COVID-19. The proportion of participants, who were involved in this activity and gambled at least once a week, grew from 79% to 83%. And those who took a risk four times a week or more often reached 32%.
We were also interested in who was gambling more often. So, we found out that women were less addicted than men and young people aged 18-34. However, earlier it was 23%.
When Does Gambling Become A Problem?
Addiction is a dangerous consequence of gambling. However, not all players are affected by it. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) have researched and found out that around 90% of problem gamblers have at least one mental disorder.
As a rule, addictive behavior is associated with anxiety, apathy, or even depression.
In Australia, about 115,000 people are problem gamblers, which is about 0,5% of the total population. And 280,000 (about 1,1 %) are at moderate risk, meaning that if these players gamble more regularly, they may join a risk group.
In New Zealand, the situation is a little better: people with addictive behavior account for 0,3% of the population, while gamblers with moderate risk constitute 1%.
The research has shown that men and young people are more vulnerable to gambling addiction.
Lockdown Period
Restrictions, designed to reduce the spread of coronavirus, caused addictive behavior. People could not believe how much the pandemic affected their mental health. As a rule, players were becoming more stressed, anxious, and less social.
They say that isolation made them download mobile apps and make high bets. It was hardly ever possible to ride this out on your own.
Typically, there is one trick that helps players to be excluded from an online casino. Gamblers can suspend a bank account to limit themselves from depositing. Also, you can use a self-exclusion program, where you ban yourself from online gambling.
However, this is only a temporary effect. Even if gamblers stopped playing at virtual casinos, they were waiting for brick-and-mortar casinos to open.
Useful Initiatives
A casino owner — Melco — created the program called “Simple Acts of Kindness.” It aimed to help businesses that had suffered during the pandemic in 2020. Volunteers made calls to more than 1000 small and medium companies and asked how they could assist them. Melco volunteers helped local SMEs with cleaning and sanitizing offices.
There is one more example of grant aid: US gambling company — Scientific Games — contributes approximately one million dollars to support such institutions as education, medicine, culture, environment, and vulnerable groups of people like homeless, veterans, and victims of domestic violence.
Final Verdict
COVID-19 influences the gambling industry: more people started playing regularly, at least four times a week. It happened because of isolation, loneliness, and depression. Besides, gamblers had quick access to the collection of casino games. It allowed them to choose any game, place bets, and wait for the win.
However, filling the days with playing and spending money leads to bad things like apathy, frustration, and other psychological problems. It creates a vicious circle from which it is exceedingly difficult to escape. Therefore, if you discover some warning sites, we strongly advise you to contact a specialist.
