Strength in Digital
It seems almost certain at this point that the world is headed for some economic troubles following the spread of the coronavirus, many small businesses warn that they may have to close their doors for good and those within the hospitality industry also warn that this is something they may not be able to recover from. But it isn’t all doom and gloom, and there are those amongst the crowd that have really been able to hit their stride as digital platforms provide a solid foundation to thrive in a time of hardship.
The movie industry is amongst the list that many expected to struggle but have found surprising results – whilst theatres and cinemas worldwide struggle as they’re forced to close, things weren’t looking great as newer releases found long delays, but as many studios turn to digital VOD releases and other streaming services such as Disney+ move planned theatre dates to an online release instead, the figures suggest things have worked out for the better. It’s unlikely to be a permanent change, but exclusive streaming titles have become more popular in recent years, and this may provide a unique opportunity for some studios to realise the benefits of a streamed digital release. Streaming services as a whole have been performing extremely well as a wider audience is now more available to watch titles on offer – including live streaming platforms such as Twitch which has found a huge surge in viewership and a growth in new streamers looking to share part of their lockdown experience.
Online casinos have also been performing extremely well – as betting services close due to sporting event postponements and cancellations, many look to online casinos as an alternate way to spend their time. Mobile gaming has been seeing a surge in popularity and lockdown efforts have strengthened this growth. Non Gamstop casinos have given international players an opportunity to make the most of these services, many offering a variety of ways to deposit and withdraw funds and with a wealth of games – there are a list here of some of the most popular services not on Gamstop and as the UK begins to make registration to the service for operators mandatory, more and more are users turning to offshore alternatives. Mobile gaming was already performing extremely well, this is a trend expected to continue, and as some sporting events are set to continue within the coming weeks with European football seemingly just around the corner, and as such it will be interesting to see if we see an increase in betting service uses along with the casino counter parts.
We’re at a stage where 5G is just around the corner, so faster and higher data connections are almost within reach as newer mobile devices are ready for the introduction of it – digital platforms continue to grow from strength to strength and with a unique situation such as the one we’re currently experiencing with the spread of the coronavirus, any potential holdouts may now be seeing the big benefits that are often associated with these digital platforms. It’ll take some time until the data following is checked and conclusions can be drawn from the months of lockdown, but initial signs show that it has been performing extremely well over the last six to eight weeks.
