Deal volumes increased by 11%, with a significant increase in private equity M&A offset by a decrease in cross-border deals, according to PwC’s China M&A 2020 Review and 2021 Outlook. IATA has revised its 2021 outlook three times since the start of the pandemic. The latest forecast, published in late November, predicts an industry net loss of US $118.5 billion in 2020 and a further loss of US $38.7 billion in 2021.

• In our 2021 banking and capital markets outlook, 200 industry leaders weighed in on their companies’ COVID-19 recovery efforts. How can the emerging lessons serve as a catalyst for business transformation?
• Looking ahead to 2021, the recovery may take longer to reach pre-pandemic levels, as Deloitte projections based on the Oxford Economic Model (OEM) anticipate a decline in annual manufacturing GDP growth levels for 2020-2021, with a forecast of -3.7% for 2020 and -5.4% for 2021.

2020 was a rough year for everyone, and industries all over the world suffered. Many land-based casinos were forced to shut down and lost revenue, but the online gambling industry enjoyed tremendous market growth over the past year.

This sets the stage for a successful year in 2021, and it is expected that online casino stocks will surge.

There will also be some major changes to the legalization of online gambling. Countries are trying to generate revenue and are looking to legalize and tax online gambling. In the United States, 6 different states had online gambling on the ballot in November, and all 6 voted in favor. Other countries are also taking steps to legalize online casinos to recoup revenue that has been lost in 2020.

New trends and new laws will come into play as 2021 unfolds, and players worldwide continue to have access to trusted and secure sites. As the online gambling industry continues to grow, players can find new sites emerging and new countries offering licensed and regulated casinos.

Stricter Regulations and New Laws

Many operating online casinos currently have a license from Malta, one of the most difficult to acquire. Many conditions must be met, and operators are constantly monitored to ensure they adhere to guidelines. While Malta-licensed casinos already adhere to strict standards, the industry will be adapting more changes and regulations.

In 2019, Sweden shifted to a new licensing system that is even stricter than the current MGA license. This forced many companies that held a Malta license to consider whether they should stay in the market. It is expected that 2021 will bring about many more changes. Casinos will have very strict regulations in place and will be required to meet higher standards.

New laws will come into play as countries start to legalize online betting and adjust current laws. Germany is one country that has major changes in the world. Germany is introducing a new treaty that will include a brand new regulator similar to the MGA and UKGC. The treaty will include restrictions such as deposit limits at 1,000 Euros per month and bet limits on slot games.

In the United States, many states are moving to legalize online betting, either at sportsbooks or online casinos. Multiple states are working to pass laws. Indiana, Nebraska, and Virginia all have plans to allow online casinos in 2021. Legal online sports betting is on the agenda for states like Maryland, New York, Missouri, and South Dakota.

With online casinos entering the market in many Canadian cities, players will take advantage of some great deposit deals. New sites will be trying to attract players, and you may find the offering of $1 minimum deposit casino deals. Top reviewed sites that feature a casino 1$ deposit offer will appeal to new gamblers, and these deals can help new sites become recognized quickly in a competitive industry.

Projected 2021 Trends

Each day, new players sign up for accounts at trusted casino sites. To make sure sites remain competitive and attract members, they will make use of new trends. These offer an enhanced gaming experience for players and will improve player retention at operating casinos. The online gambling market is always expanding and improving, and with the latest technology, players can expect new offerings in 2021.

When it comes to choosing an online casino, players want diversity. They want a larger selection of games, better bonuses, and special offers. The most trusted and reliable casino sites are always making changes to meet players’ demands and are adopting many new trends in the coming year.

Even the newest sites that will be emerging due to new regulations will provide players with the latest technology and a trendy experience. Online casino gaming is expected to be better than ever in 2021 due to these new and exciting trends.

More Live Dealer Options

Online casino games already provide a sense of realism due to enhanced technology, but live dealer games are even better. Live games have become a top choice for online gamblers who love table and card games. These titles are streamed from land casinos or studios and offer real-time play. Unlike standard online games, they are not controlled by a random number generator.

Leading developers like Evolution Gaming, Ezugi, and NetEnt are working on new games to release in 2021. Players will have even more chances to engage in life-like games of blackjack, roulette, baccarat, poker, and more. With live games, players feel like they are at a land casino and will have the ability to chat with dealers as they enjoy their favorite classic titles.

Virtual Currencies for Payments

Online casinos all over the world accept a wide variety of payment methods. Some sites will cater to certain players by offering specific methods. For example, players in Australia will find sites that offer the use of POLi or NeoSurf. The best online casino will also offer local currencies for players so transactions can be made without conversions. Players should watch for the latest reviews of the best Australian casinos to also start supporting the use of virtual currencies.

While standard payment options will still be supported, you can expect more sites to start supporting the use of cryptocurrencies. With options like Bitcoin, Litecoin, and others, players can make immediate deposits and remain anonymous. Crypto casinos have already become a top choice for players who reside in countries where online gambling is restricted.

With new sites entering the industry, virtual currencies will surely be one trend that is adopted. Not only will the best sites support cryptocurrency payments, but players may also find the offering of block-chain games being introduced.

eSports Wagering Increases

In addition to new online gambling platforms, game titles, and casinos opening, players will see a drastic increase in the offering of eSports. Many operating sites already allow players to use their funded account to wager on some of the most exciting eSports events.

eSports has been a successful industry and has grown rapidly over the past decade. With more people wagering online and new casino sites entering the market, you can expect many sites to present esports betting opportunities. Players will be able to wager on individual games as well as top-paying tournaments.

Almost every single online sportsbook already offers esports, and many casinos are starting to incorporate this betting option into their platforms.

Diverse Bonuses

Bonuses and promotions play a key role in an online gambling experience. With fierce competition and many new sites entering the market in 2021, players can expect some amazing bonus opportunities. Existing casinos will have to up their game to continue attracting players as new sites emerge.

A diverse array of bonuses will appeal to many players, so casinos need to have different toes regularly. One thing you can expect from 2021 casinos is low or no wagering requirements. With these deals, bonuses can be cleared faster and at a lower cost than a traditional offer with standard requirements.

New players will find higher-paying welcome offers and more no deposit deals. Many online sites will provide a $5 minimum deposit bonus to those just getting started. Player reviews will detail bonus terms and provide more information. At 5$ deposit casinos, new players do not have to risk much to get started playing real money games. Sites that have these low deposit requirements will be successful in attracting casual players that want a low-risk experience.

Mobile Gambling Surges

The mobile gambling industry is already popular with players worldwide, and in 2021, it will become even more prominent. With new games being developed using HTML5 technology, players using any mobile device will have access to the latest release. New casinos that are entering the industry will have solid mobile platforms for registered members.

The new year will also see more devices with 5G capabilities, offering faster network speed and better content. For those that enjoy live dealer games, these will operate seamlessly on a mobile device. For casino gamers, 5G will make a huge difference in the experience.

Most software developers are also focused on creating a mobile-first approach, making games compatible with all smartphones and tablets. Players can expect to see more options for mobile payments, with popular options like apple pay and GPay being supported at casino sites.

As 2021 plays out, players will enjoy many new changes, most of which will enhance the gambling experience. Players from Canada to the UK and everywhere else will benefit from the latest technology, new trends, and new laws that allow for safe and secure online gambling.

Having finalised staff bonus and partner distribution arrangements, this release provides PwC’s headline financial results for the year ended 30 June 2020.

The full financial statements, people data and balanced scorecard for the year will be published in January.

• Resilient revenues with a 3% increase to £4,380m, while profits impacted and down 8%
• Deals led recovery, Net Zero and digital transformation all driving pick up in demand
• 3,000+ new graduates, school leavers and experienced hires brought on board during pandemic
• Investment in regional offices including Bradford office expansion, new offices opened in Birmingham and Watford in 2020 with Belfast opening in 2021

Revenue increased for the year ended 30 June 2020 by 3% to £4,380m, despite the exceptional circumstances of the pandemic. This reflects good growth until Covid-19 began to impact the business in March. Profit was down 8% to £938m and the average distributable profit per partner was down 10% to £685,000 as the partnership prioritised protecting jobs and salaries and paying staff bonuses.

Kevin Ellis, PwC UK Chairman and Senior Partner, said:

“I’ve been impressed by the resilience of our people and business as we’ve adapted to new ways of working while keeping a constant focus on supporting our clients. As is to be expected the pandemic had a significant impact on our financial performance in 2020, however I am proud that we have continued to invest in our people and regional growth opportunities.

“We were clear in our response to the crisis from day one that we prioritised providing support and reassurance to our people. We took an early decision not to take government funding through the furlough scheme or loans. Supporting our people enabled us to continue to deliver for our clients. Through the hard work of our partners and staff we have maintained our focus while recognising it’s been a difficult time for everyone and that many of our people have been personally impacted.

Business performance

“For the first eight months of the financial year we saw good performance across our balanced portfolio of services. We started to feel the impact of the pandemic in March and saw growth slow significantly by the end of June, impacting the last four months of our financial year and into the current financial year. Since September we’ve seen a steady uptick in demand despite the uncertainties of Covid-19 and Brexit.

“Audit has proved resilient and versatile, requiring new approaches as Covid restrictions made accessing company sites and data more challenging. Risk Assurance had a solid first year establishing itself as a new standalone business division, with technology risk and cyber security performing well. Demand for forensic and transaction services from Deals and for deals-related advice from our Consulting and Tax practices was particularly strong, although suffered a weakening in the immediate Covid lockdown period. Clients in both the UK and the Middle East continued to seek support with technology and transformation programmes.

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Investing for the longer term

“Over several years we have invested significantly in leading edge cloud-based technology and this allowed us to adapt quickly to keep our 22,000 people safe while staying focused on our clients. Despite the disruption caused by the pandemic we have onboarded more than 3,000 graduates, school leavers and experienced hires during the crisis as we continue to invest for the future. Looking forward to next year’s graduate intake, we have adapted our recruitment process, leveraging AI technology to develop a ‘virtual park’ online that has already been visited by more than 5,500 students.

Growing our regional presence and levelling up

“Over the year we continued to grow our UK regional presence and half of our employees are now based outside London. As a UK-wide business we see the economic and societal benefits of levelling up our own operations across the country. While we know a different balance between office and working from home is here to stay, our offices across the UK will continue to play a vital role. Our people tell us they value access to the office and important activities, such as learning, training and team building, work better in person. We are committed to playing our part as the UK economy rebuilds and have opened new offices in Birmingham and Watford, taken more space in Bradford where we’ve doubled our headcount, and are moving to a new, larger office in Belfast in 2021. We are reviewing the layout and technology of all of our offices to ensure they are best equipped for a hybrid working world.

Prioritising diversity and inclusion

“Widening access to jobs, social mobility and equality remain priorities and we were ranked as the leading social mobility employer in the UK in October for the second consecutive year and named Organisation of the Year at the Social Mobility Awards. We committed to further actions in our Colour Brave programme, recognising the need to do more to support our people and up the pace of progress on racial equality. This includes mandatory unconscious bias training for all our people and the creation of a staff diversity council, to make sure all voices within the firm are heard and represented.

Upskilling our people

“We have offered more upskilling opportunities with 10,000 of our people attending digital training academies this year. 22% of our work in 2020 was technology-related and we see this continuing to rise sharply as Covid acts as a catalyst for accelerated digital transformation. To ensure our people are equipped to support our clients we have continued to invest in training and innovation. More than half of our people are using our Digital Lab to build and share tech solutions.

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Enhancing audit quality and governance

“We engaged with regulators during the year on our plans for operational separation and on Covid-19 considerations for going concern. We continue to drive our three year programme to enhance audit quality and reinforce a culture of challenge, and have rolled out additional training for all of our auditors this year. We have further strengthened the governance of our Audit practice with the creation of an Audit Oversight Body (AOB) chaired by Philip Rycroft CB, an independent non-executive (INE), to ensure we remain focused on the delivery of consistently high quality audits.

Committing to Net Zero

“We have been carbon neutral in the UK since 2007 and in September made a science-based Net Zero commtment as a network. This not only includes achieving net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across our worldwide operations by 2030 but supporting our clients and suppliers in their transition to Net Zero and meeting related reporting requirements.

John-Paul Barker, PwC's Regional Market Leader in Wales, said:

“As Kevin has said, we can be proud of continuing to invest in our people and our businesses despite the challenges 2020 has presented. Our people have come together despite being apart for so much of it, showing great resilience to deliver for our clients under difficult circumstances. We have convened business, academia and government to discuss how Wales can recover in an inclusive and sustainable way, we’ve honoured all of our job offers, we've supported our communities and keyworkers during the height of the first lockdown, and we’ve digitally upskilled thousands of local students. We are committed to growing our footprint outside London which will offer exciting opportunities for expansion in South Wales, and help us deliver on our purpose to build trust in society and solve important problems.”

Outlook for 2021

“While the external environment remains tough, the rollout of the vaccine programme will give business leaders more confidence to plan and make decisions. We will stay focused on providing high quality services to help our clients tackle the challenges they face.

“Since the summer we have seen demand increase month by month as clients accelerate the transformation of their businesses, embed new technologies, overhaul their business models to deliver Net Zero and reconfigure their supply chains. All of our business divisions are performing well with the anticipated deals-led recovery and increased capital markets activity also driving demand for services.”

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2020 Financial highlights for year ended 30 June 2020:

• Revenue by business division:

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* On 1 July 2019 the Assurance practice was divided into Audit and Risk Assurance divisions. The reported 2019 Assurance revenue of £1,442m has been re-analysed to provide comparative figures with the new structure.

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• Total consolidated profit for the financial year to 30 June 2020 was £938m (down 8% from £1,016m in 2019) and the average distributable profit per partner before tax was £685,000 (down 10% from £765,000 in 2019).
• The firm’s consolidated financial performance includes revenues for PwC in the Middle East, which grew by 18% to £850m.
• The firm’s total tax contribution in the UK was £1,274m (2019: £1,265m) and consisted of £798m in taxes collected and £476m in taxes borne.
• The effective UK tax rate for partners was 48% (2019: 48%).