The global pandemic led to all major sports being suspended in mid-March, and while the majority have returned, countries worldwide are preparing for a ‘second wave’ of the virus, creating huge uncertainty.

While events such as the UEFA European Championships and the Olympics have been rearranged to next year, the former Interwetten speaker of the board believes the industry must remain cautious of an instant recovery while player spending remains volatile.

Speaking to Gambling Insider, Beier said: “Purely from a sporting point of view, it’s going to be a very interesting year and we’re going to have a very packed schedule.

“I’m really curious to how the whole economies of each countries will develop, because if there’s less money to spend on entertainment with more people out of work, then obviously this would be a potential hit to our industry.

“We don’t just rely on sports events to take place, we rely on if people feel well, have work and money to spend on consumption and entertainment products.

“I do believe most of the sports events will take place even if the virus gets worse again, as there’s a way to deal with it now. But we don’t know what will happen on the customer side, and people having less money to spend on entertainment products might be a potential threat to our industry.”

You can read the full sports betting feature in the September/October Gambling Insider magazine.