With the third quarter of 2020 came the response to the COVID-19 health crisis and its effects on gaming markets worldwide. While not surprising, results from the latest reporting period depicted decreased revenue trends across the board for major casino and resort operators. However, revenues showed significant improvement from the preceding quarter when a large majority of casinos remained shuttered. Properties across the United States and abroad continued to reopen their doors during the third quarter but all faced operational limitations, and decreased capacities and new health and safety guidelines had direct effects on net revenues market wide.
COVID-19 and Industry Creativity
To safely navigate the new gaming environment amid the pandemic, casino and hotel operators have implemented new policies, guidelines and restrictions to keep their doors open in hopes of generating cash flow to stop the bleeding during the shutdowns. The industry’s response has been nothing short of impressive, as health and safety measures have been far reaching. Resort properties have continued to move forward with widespread cleaning of all machines and tabletop games as well as added dividers to keep guests safely apart. While the number of measures is too long to list here, a few key examples demonstrate the ingenuity and forward-thinking approach to getting back to business safely.