The International Cricket Council (ICC) Signs Data Sharing Agreement With The MGA.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) signs Data Sharing Agreement with the MGA. Globally spread coronavirus has profoundly affected every aspect of our daily lives. We are slowly trying to adjust to the new lifestyle and keep fighting against this invisible enemy. But we are not the only ones struggling with the major changes happening all around us. COVID-19 has created huge financial problems for every industry that are now facing a major crisis and are trying to minimize the effect of the pandemic on their businesses.

One of the global industries that have been really struggling this past couple of weeks is the cricket industry. It has basically been put on hold, which is a shame since there were a lot of amazing tournaments coming up. But the plus is that with all the cricket-related events being postponed, the spectators are taking to the online gambling scene.

ICC Signs A Deal With MGA

The reason why this is very convenient is that The International Cricket Council (ICC) has just signed a data-sharing agreement with The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) which licenses all the major online real money casinos.

This agreement is supposed to help the ICC in combating match-fixing and other types of manipulation in sports. It would help both the ICC and the MGA in detecting, preventing and investigating illegal activities related to sports. This is a great opportunity, especially now since the number of online gamblers is higher than ever before.

This industry was at the lowest point in its cash cycle even before the coronavirus took its toll on it. This year its revenue is basically nothing compared to that of last year. Their financial situation is so critical that if the industry doesn’t earn its projected value in 2020-21, they won’t be able to payout to the players and the state. The pandemic indeed came at the worst time. Now, the ICC is projecting revenue to fall as much as 50 per cent in the next year, causing a lot of budget cuts. But just like in many other sports that are dealing with the current situation, this is inevitable.

Major Events in doubt

One of the biggest income outlets for this industry is The T20 World Cup. The fate of this championship is now unknown. It is highly unlikely that the governments will allow thousands and thousands of people gathering to attend the world’s biggest cricket event. The only option, other than completely cancelling the tournament is turning it into a virtual one. Thus, it means that 16 teams will be competing against each other as usual with the subtle change of not having any real-life spectators in the audience.

Cricket fans will be able to enjoy their favourite championship via different outlets. This might not be as fun for them as watching their favourite athletes play live, but this is definitely better than nothing.

Other big events that might not take place this year due to COVID-19 are the Indian tour and the Big Bash League. These are both significant events for anyone who has anything to do with cricket. This would truly be a colossal loss to the industry, but there’s nothing the ICC can do.

What’s Next?

While the situation is clearly rough, the ICC is trying to take action to minimize the destructive effect of the global pandemic on the sport. These measures include reducing costs at head office, which left a lot of people unsatisfied. They are also limiting distribution to the states and asking them to stump up cash and assets, which caused a bit of chaos. Also, because the ICC strongly relies on its players, their salaries aren’t in jeopardy as much as that of the regular staff. It eventually means that some of the crew might suffer from an 80% cut while players can expect their salaries to decrease by 20%.

ICC, just like any other sports industry like NFL or AFL, will have to adjust to the new reality. Clearly setting out their priorities and values, cutting down their spendings as much as possible and long-term thinking are the things that will help sustain the industry. But for now, a lot of things are unknown, and the fate of the cricket industry is no exception.

Also Read: Aaron Finch Prepared For 2020 T20 World Cup Postponement Ahead Of ICC Meeting