Covid-19: Asia drives $3bn annual downgrade

H2 Gambling Capital has provided the biggest downgrade to its annual outlook for the global gambling sector in three weeks as reopenings in Asia fell short of expectations.

iGB’s principal data partner is now projecting a 22.5% decrease on its pre-pandemic forecast to $366.9bn (see Charts 1 and 2 interactive dashboard below)

The $3bn drop was driven mainly by a further downgrade in annual expectations for the Asia/Oceania region from -22.8% to -24.1% over this past week (Chart 3 below).

The region where much of the international destination casino resort business is located saw border restrictions with Hong Kong extended to 7 July with no international gamblers now expected until September 2020. South Korean’s Kangwon Land casino also pushed its opening back to mid-June the earliest due to a rise in Covid-19 cases.

H2 said: “This week has shown the fragile nature of reopenings, especially if Covid-19 cases emerge and also how the fortunes of many destination markets are being dictated by government policies regarding the openings of borders.”