SBC Events announced they would be postponing two of international gambling conferences on March 10 due to the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. CasinoBeats Malta and the Betting on Sports America will be moved until later this year.
The CasinoBeats Malta, the dedicated gambling conference and exhibition was initially set to be held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Malta on March 24-26. However, this event has now been moved back until June 22-24, but will still be held at the same venue.
The Betting on Sports America conference was to be held at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey on April 28-30, but it has been moved to December 1-3 at the same location.
SBC Events explained: “While the global COVID-19 situation evolves and the official advice and restrictions concerning travel and public gatherings continue to change, we feel we have no alternative but to postpone both events until later in the year.”
They further added, “The changing situation and the fact that an increasing number of industry organizations are introducing their own travel bans for staff, means that both CasinoBeats Malta and Betting on Sports America would have been severely impacted had we not made the decision to postpone them until later in the year.”
Betting on Sports Europe hasn’t been altered at this point, and will still be held in London on June 2-4. However, this too could change if the situation continues to worsen.
This is not the first event that has been canceled or postponed due to the COVID-19 virus, and the gambling sector has not been the only industry affected. In Italy, the government is trying to quell the epidemic, resulting in the cancellation of all major sporting events and the closure of museums.
Casinos in Macau were closed for two weeks in February to help stop the spread of the virus. The Kangwon Land casino, the only gaming establishment in South Korea that locals can visit, has been closed since February 26. The ASEAN Gaming Summit and G2E Asia have also been postponed, with both events currently planned for late July, 2020.
Even the coronavirus isn’t safe from the coronavirus. A New York Council on Foreign Relations roundtable labeled “Doing Business Under Coronavirus,” scheduled for March 13, has been cancelled as well.
