Since COVID-19 struck China and other countries such as Italy and Israel, and has since reached the status of a pandemic, more and more people have taken up online gambling, Israeli firm Optimove reported in a press release on Wednesday.
The company saw a 43% in online poker games and a massive increase of 225% of people who began to play poker online for the first time, when compared to the pre-COVID-19 figures.
According to the head of research at Optimove, Omer Liss, people began to gamble online now that they can’t meet friends for weekly poker sessions, and others are simply trying to spice up a long dull stay indoors with the thrill of chance.
While the NFL and NBA no longer have games, and the Tokyo Olympics had been postponed, people may still gamble on horse races and online gaming events.
Comedian Doug Stanhope, known for his shocking humor, opened Celebrity Death Pool where people may place bets over which famous person they think of will die and from what, now of course COVID-19 is an added option to the other causes of death.
Other gambling sites such as My Bookie allow one to bet over less shocking things, such as who will be the next Pope.
Recently, a young married couple filed for divorce when the woman learned her husband is addicted to gambling when the two went on a vacation overseas.
The man allegedly violated quarantine orders to those returning from abroad just to go off and find a game to bet on.
Gambling is illegal in the State of Israel, and while gambling can be harmless, it is important to note that it can also be harmful and addictive. Optimove is a large company with branches in New York, London and Tel Aviv with a focus on using advanced AI to sell various services and items online. It also specializes in predicting the online market's future trends.