The COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed the way we’re presently living in the United States. It has affected our way of life, our economy, and the health of our citizens. Many citizens have either become temporarily unemployed, permanently unemployed or forced into early retirement. Many of those who have been quarantining since March 2020 have succumbed to quarantine fatigue. Many more don’t believe the death toll rates, which is, at present an estimated 399,000 in the US.
Burning Stimulus Money in Your Pocket
If you’re one of the millions who have time on their hands and COVID-19 pandemic stimulus/unemployment money burning a hole in your pocket, think about your options. If you’re looking to have fun with the money, please realize that we’re coming on 1 year since the shutdown of our country. It’s questionable how long before our economy recovers because many businesses will not be returning after this.
With that said, here are some of our feelings about available gambling options:
Indoor Casinos during COVID-19
Although many of them are huge with the old wives’ tales of piping fresh oxygen into the casino floor, it’s still an enclosed environment. Can you smell the cigarette smoke of the person at the next table? Think of that as COVID-19 particles. Although many casinos, particularly in Las Vegas have been touting improved cleaning and sanitation of their facility, it’s still a closed environment. Whether in Las Vegas, Connecticut, Kansas, New Jersey, or Louisiana, casinos large and small are not immune to the virus.
Due to reduced travel during this time, many casinos have reduced their available staff. If you’re also hoping for the full casino experience, your time there may fall short of expectations.
Horse Racing During the Pandemic
Currently offseason up north, most horse race tracks are designed as partially opened facilities. Since racetracks are not a 24-hour affair, the downtime does offer a needed separation for compulsive gamblers. PETA advocates notwithstanding, a day at the track can be an option. Social distancing is easier to achieve at the track unless you’re placing a bet.
Online Gambling During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Since the advent of online poker, online gambling has become a favorite of college fratboys looking for some table action. Last year, the World Series of Poker tournament went digital due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Online casinos are one of the sectors where businesses have been booming. This past December MarketWatch reported that New Jersey hit a monthly record of $93.5M in October revenue from online poker and casinos.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has kept patrons indoors, high-speed internet and casino apps have made it more accessible for customers to play anywhere. The main concerns are where your money is being deposited. Because of the vast amount of online banks, it’s questionable whether your money or bank accounts are safe. Because some of these gambling sites are not in the United States, it’s questionable what they’re doing with your information. If online sites are your thing, then I’d suggest doing your research before signing up.
Here are five of the main online money-making gaming apps currently out there:
Poker Apps
Perhaps one of the oldest variations of online gambling, many online poker rooms offer “sit and go”, regular games, and tournaments. The concern with this is not every state allows online gambling. Since the PartyPoker.com fiasco in 2006, it’s questionable which states allow online gambling and which do not. Because of smart ads, know that once you start looking into this, you’ll start seeing more online gambling ads in your feed. You are not imagining things. Just do your research before signing up.
Slot Apps
Slot apps were first popularized by the myVegas Facebook app in 2012, which earned loyalty points for users to redeem in real Las Vegas casinos. Apps like it have littered the iOS and Android app stores since with the promise of winning real money. Of course, just like all app casino games, most of the real money games require you to make a deposit of real money yourself. And just like real life casinos, you are more than likely going to go home empty-handed.
Bingo, Solitaire, Bubble Shooter, Blackjack
Many of these tournament games are from Skillz which tout competitive online games on a mobile platform. Because of the overall size of their platform, they have an impressive 30 million players. Most rounds last for anywhere between 3-5 minutes per game, so you don’t need to fear bathroom breaks. Even though their platform does offer free games, or the occasional free for money games, the prizes are small enough to give you a taste. To play the larger grand prize tournament you will need to deposit money into their platform. Like many of these app games, it won’t be through the google play or iOS store, so be warned. Also be aware there are some illegitimate apps that use footage from Skillz winners as advertising for their platform. Before downloading, make sure the legitimacy of your app before you give all your personal rights away by downloading the app.
Scratch-Off and Quiz Apps
These are not my favorite apps. These include apps like Swagbucks, Lucktastic, HQ, and Swag IQ. For the Scratch-Offs, you may end up scratching off hundreds of tickets before you see a penny. Quiz apps usually require you to beat all those who are presently playing in an effort to win the top prize. The rub of both of these apps is you usually need to meet cash out threshold before you can get paid. In many of these apps, they can be as little as $20 or as much as $100. Because you are a captive audience, the app will play a new ad in between every round. A portion of the ad revenue from these ads is what makes up the prize pool since these games are usually free to play. It becomes questionable if the winners are real since there’s no real proof of legitimate winners.
Merge for Money Apps
These are perhaps the worst apps of all. The ads show that you can earn hundreds to thousands of dollars paid directly to your PayPal account. Many times they’ll be merge games or pachinko, or coin pusher games. The vast majority of the ads will be of Asians with bad overdubbing. I’ve actually caught ads where they’ll use videos of winners from Skillz games holding a check of their payment in their own ads. The ads encourage you to download and play, but what it’s really doing is accessing your information from your phone through your download.
They are also getting paid by advertisers to have you watch their ads for little to no payment. For payout, I’ve seen, even for Target gift cards, a $100 requirement. Many of these programs will start off dishing out decent payments, but the closer you get to that payout threshold, the less your win amounts become.
Just be mindful of these apps.
Just Be Careful
At the end of the day, we’re all going to do what we want. If you do end up getting that itch, just be careful. The COVID-19 pandemic is not over. Whether it’s going out to the track or giving your debit card information to an online game. Right now the risks are real.
I hope to see you at a charity casino event in the future when we’re all vaccinated. Be well.
