Coronavirus taking a toll on several leagues and wagers

This image shows two hockey players standing in front of each other The sports world came to a screeching halt in mid-March when professional and amateur leagues around the globe stopped operations as the coronavirus grew into a worldwide pandemic. The National Basketball Association was the first major professional league in North America to temporarily stop playing games, but others such as the National Hockey League soon followed suit. As of now, NHL games have been suspended indefinitely while the world waits to see if measures implemented to halt the spread of the coronavirus work. While NHL officials are hoping that the sport can return at some point to save the 2019-20 season, there are no guarantees at this point, putting people’s fandom and their sports bets on hold for now. However there are some alternatives, just have a look at the alternatives of the following site.

What happens to this season?

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1 What happens to this season?
2 Shutdowns have affected NHL betting

When the NHL announced it would be temporarily suspending the season, there was optimism that the stoppage wouldn’t last too long. However, things have quickly changed as the seriousness of the coronavirus intensified quickly.

In the United States, the virus has spread rapidly, forcing governors of states to ban non-essential businesses from opening and also banning gatherings of 10 or more people. The federal government in America has also highly suggested that people remain in their homes and practice social distancing as a way to slow the spread of the virus. The virus hasn’t spread as seriously in Canada, but it’s still a concern north of the border as well.

From the NHL’s standpoint, while the sport is extremely popular in Canada, a majority of the teams are based in the United States. This makes continuing the season at this point impossible. Social distancing recommendations were extended through April 30 in America, making it highly unlikely that any professional sports league there would be able to resume operations until May at the absolute earliest.

It’s much more likely, though, that the NHL and other leagues are looking more toward a June re-start date as a likely outcome. There’s even a remote possibility at this point that the rest of the season will be canceled. Want to see if there are any sports to bet on while the NHL and other leagues are on halt? Check out the online sportsbook listed here.

Shutdowns have affected NHL betting

Naturally, all the cancellations and suspensions of professional sports leagues and events have had a huge impact on the sports betting world. If there are no games going on, there obviously can’t be any betting action, either.

This is the time of year when betting action on the NHL really would begin picking up, too. The original end date to the regular season was supposed to the first week of April, with the NHL playoffs beginning the week of April 5. That, however, won’t happen now.

Whether the NHL season even resumes or not, sportsbooks are going to have to make major adjustments to futures bets they’ve already taken. If the NHL resumes play but doesn’t play a full 82-game regular season schedule, for example, sportsbooks will have to cancel and refund any futures bets placed on over/under total points for teams.

At the same time, they could decide to still pay out futures bets that were placed on winners of divisions, as that event would still occur if the season does resume. Finally, sportsbooks may have to adjust betting lines and offerings for the NHL playoffs, as the league could decide to change the format of series to compensate for the amount of time lost. Whatever happens, it’s sure to continue throwing a wrench in the sports betting world. If and when play does resume, you can get in on the betting action at one of the online sportsbooks listed here.

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