Gamblers React to COVID-19: Top 3 Stories

It comes as no surprise that since the COVID-19 began spreading around the world at warp speed it, managed to turn our lives upside down. While in 96% of all cases, patients who have attracted the virus are in a mild condition – it still has a devastating effect on every industry that comes to mind.

The gambling industry, like all others, is undergoing a series of changes that will probably affect online and offline casinos for years to come. As people are either afraid or not allowed to leave their homes, land-based gambling venues are shutting their doors. The American Gaming Association estimates that if casinos remain closed for 8 weeks, the industry will suffer a staggering loss of approximately $21.3 billion.

On the other hand, online gambling is seeing a serious rise in traffic. For example, in Pennsylvania, the number of players has nearly tripled in less than a month.

But traffic and profits are not the only things that are changing in the industry at the moment. Perhaps the most interesting transformation of all is happening far from the limelight – in the minds of the casino players themselves.

Gamblers from all around the world, like all of us, are dealing with a lot of stress these days. While that doesn’t stop them from play casino games online, each player reacts to the situation in a different way.

Some poker pros, for example, use their influence to promote good causes. Others chose to approach the matter with a bit more humour to deal with the situation. So what were the most interesting and extreme responses so far? It’s time to find out.

Top 3 Reactions to Coronavirus Crisis

1. Negreanu pushes for the legalization of online poker – Daniel Negreanu is a professional poker player and a renowned figure in the industry. With 242K followers on Facebook and 481.7K on Twitter, it is clear that people are interested in what this poker pro has to say. Earlier this month, Negreanu brought up the legal status of online poker in the US. He urged the government to allow poker players in all states to enjoy the game, even if temporarily, as it will be beneficial to the authorities and the players alike.
   The professional player also used social media to reach out to all his fans and talk about the importance of social distancing, all while engaging the masses with a series of fun tweets that are bound to help poker lovers to pass their time in self-isolation.
2. Poker pro willing to contract the virus for the right amount of cash – While some poker players use social media to address important issues, others choose to entertain themselves – and the public – by being provocative. Matt Glantz, a professional poker player from Pennsylvania, said in a tweet that he was prepared to contract the virus – on purpose – for $250k. He then explained his plan: “…Will immediately go into self-quarantine as to not to spread or infect anyone else. Will document entire experience daily”. While the reactions varied from amusement to disbelief and even anger at the insensitive offer, at first, it didn’t seem that people took Glantz’s proposition too seriously. However, later on, another high-stakes gambler that goes by the name ‘EmpireMaker2’ tweeted back: “100% going to pay you to do this let’s figure ok the best way”. But at the end of the day, they couldn’t agree on the timeframe of the so-called challenge, so it fell through. Luckily.
3. Toilet paper instead of poker chips – Up until fairly recently, the UK government didn’t instruct citizens to practice social distancing. But people still were afraid of what the future will bring, so they stormed the stores – and cleaned them out completely. One of the main items that disappeared from the shelves in an instant is, surprisingly enough, toilet paper! It became a hot commodity straight away, and poker players in the country saw the humour in this and acted upon it. In a Facebook post, ‘The Poker Page’ shared a video of a high-stake game taking place in South East London, as the players replaced their poker chips with… toilet paper! The funny scene got some mixed responses, as people were both entertained by it and outraged about the lack of distance between the players.

What is Your Story?

People often have unpredictable reactions to stressful situations, which was made quite clear as news about gamblers from all over the world started coming in. How are you dealing with the current state of events?