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5 Ways Investors are Betting on a 2019 Gambling Boom
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In May 2018, the Court struck down a U.S. Federal law that prohibited legal sports gambling, ruling that it was unconstitutional. Sports gambling can now be authorized and regulated by the States, not by the Federal Government. And it’s triggered a potential sports gambling revolution. Mentioned in today’s commentary includes: MGM Resorts (NYSE:MGM), International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT), Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD), Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR), Millennial Esports Corp. (OTC:MLLLF).
In October, the state of New Jersey handled more than $250 million in bets, a 41% increase from the previous month. The Garden State is leading the way. Mississippi, Delaware, West Virginia, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island…the legal sports gambling world is growing by the day.
By 2022, sports fans around the world will be betting $1 trillion online every year. Profiting from this new industry doesn’t have to mean rolling the dice.
Here’s five stocks investors should watch because of the shift to legal sports gambling:
#1 MGM Resorts (NYSE:MGM)
Sports betting is small potatoes in Vegas: compared to blackjack earnings of $1.24 billion, legal sports betting only pulled in a paltry $329.1 million. But all that’s about to change, and major casino chain MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM) is working to bring sports betting to the prime-time.
The biggest casino operator in the U.S. generates over $4 billion in revenue from Vegas alone. But it also has properties in Atlantic City, and just this year took over the Empire Casino in New York. It’s got a pretty sizable footprint in the sports betting world, raking in $114 million from sport betting on the Strip last year, 35% of the total.
With a market cap of $13.5 billion, MGM has some deep pockets. And its using that financial muscle to corner the sports betting world. It’s already launched sports betting at two Mississippi casinos, and became the “official gaming partner” of the NBA.
MGM Resorts has solidified deals with the biggest leagues in the country: basketball, hockey and professional baseball have all signed on to allow MGM to cross-promote the company’s casinos and sports betting app. So far, MGM can only handle bets for teams based in states where betting has been formerly legalized.
By far the biggest prize is the National Football League, and MGM has already got its foot in the door. With Pennsylvania about to embrace legal sports betting, both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers will be fair-game.
#2 Bragg (BRAG.V; BKDCF)
Bragg Gaming Group (BRAG.V; BKDCF), formerly Breaking Data Corp., has an audience of 31 million for its media property, Give Me Sport (GMS). Together with its online global gaming platform, Oryx Gaming, BRAGG has plans to leverage the Give Me Sport audience into the largest sports gaming customer base on earth. Online gambling can be incredibly profitable, with one study estimating the gross market at $46.7 billion in 2018 and $89 billion by 2025.
GMS has a Facebook page with 26 million active, fanatic users. For comparison, ESPN has only 19 million, and it’s a major media brand, worth $28 billion. Or Sky Bet, a property that was just sold for $5.7 billion, which had only 819,000 viewers.
BRAGG hopes to tap into its huge audience, using the Oryx Gaming services to launch a new sports-centric betting platform, Give Me Bet. When Give Me Bet goes live, it will incorporate Oryx Gaming tech with the GMS brand, to deliver a catered on-line sports betting experience specifically for BRAGG’s audience.
BRAGG has seen strong growth in its two major assets, Give Me Sports and Oryx. Just in the last year, Oryx has seen revenue growth of more than 400%. Monthly traffic in the UK for Give Me Sport has increased by 5 million, with revenue growing 30%. If BRAGG (BRAG.V; BKDCF) taps a reasonable number of its huge potential audience, its earnings from sports gambling could be enormous.
This little company could be one of the biggest success stories of 2019.
#3 International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT)
This company has had a rocky year, climbing to a one-year high of $31 before falling to $14 in November, to stabilize in early December at around $16.
With a market cap of $3.4 billion and 12,000 employees, IGT is a big firm with a big footprint: it manufactures more casino gaming platforms and slot machines than any other company out there. But times are changing, and IGT is branching out into sports betting.
IGT is a service provider, which means it doesn’t have to handle the risk of managing sportsbooks. All it needs to do is fulfill the needs of companies like MGM, constructing infrastructure that make the boom in sports betting possible. In 2017, IGT handled more than $12 billion in sports betting. That should make IGT a safe bet for investors looking to score on sports betting in 2019.
In July, IGT announced a deal with popular sports betting platform FanDuel. IGT will bring FanDuel’s services to its existing platforms in markets across fifteen states. IGT is about to roll out PlayShot, a new service for sports betters, which will utilize FanDuel’s consumer-facing waging system, sportsbook.fanduel.com.
FanDuel plans to leverage IGT’s tech and its solid reputation to build its brand into the legal world of sports betting. So, after a rocky year, it’s more than likely that IGT’s fortunes will pick up in 2019, along with the share price.
#4 Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD)
Boyd Gaming is one of the largest casino operators in the US, with 29 gaming properties in ten states. Like MGM, Boyd is positioning itself to be a major player in the emerging sports gambling sector.
This company has some unique experience from the Vegas Strip: for the last decade, Boyd Gaming has handled the biggest sportsbooks in Sin City. And now that sports betting is legal, it’s preparing to branch out into other regional markets.
The company just signed a deal with MGM Resorts, the casino chain that’s trying to corner the sports betting market. The two companies have agreed to share online and mobile gaming platforms, with MGM offering up its online poker and casino gaming apps for Boyd’s sportsbook, in 15 states. The “unprecedented” deal could mark the beginnings of a sports gambling empire, managed by MGM and Boyd.
Boyd’s got a new sports betting app, BConnected, that its rolled out in three casinos. And like IGT, it’s signed a deal with FanDuel, leasing out its gaming properties for FanDuel’s mobile and online sports betting platform.
The deal covers all states where Boyd holds gaming licenses, excluding Nevada, and builds off of Boyd’s deal with MGM.
#5 Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR)
One might not think a hotel chain would have much skin in the game, when it comes to sports gambling. But they’d be wrong. As one of the biggest hotel chains in the country, Marriott possesses marketing and rewards programs that casinos are eager to partner with. And as sports gambling grows around the country, sportsbooks holders like MGM and Boyd are going to want to partner with Marriott, to leverage the hotel chain’s customer base in order to rope in more business.
Marriott already has a sizable footprint in the casino world, with a licensing deal with JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort & Spa, as well as a number of casinos across the Caribbean. And in February 2018, the company announced plans to build a 4,000 room resort and casino, The Drew, in the heart of the Vegas Strip.
Marriott has suffered some bad press lately, taking a hit for a data breach scandal in December. But the stock is poised to bounce back, and could yield some excellent returns when sports gambling picks up and the national market grows and grows.
Other companies prepared to see huge growth as gaming takes off again:
Millennial Esports Corp. (OTCQB:MLLLF)
Millenial E-sports is a small company based in Toronto focusing on E-sports and E-gaming.
The Company doesn’t just focus on content creation and broadcasting, it also offers data analytics and execution tools.
In 2017, the company started providing analytics and business intelligence products for the e-gaming industry, and recently, the company has partnered with the likes of Aston Martin and McLaren but also with MotoGp and Formula E and has developed games for mobile platforms.
By. Meredith Taylor
Source: Latest News on European Gaming Media Network
This is a Syndicated News piece. Photo credits or photo sources can be found on the source article: 5 Ways Investors are Betting on a 2019 Gambling Boom
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Drafted.gg Achieves ESIC Gold Standard Accreditation, Joining a Distinguished List of Esports Betting Content Providers
The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) today admits Drafted.gg into the ESIC Gold Standard accreditation following an extensive on-site audit. This prestigious recognition underscores Drafted.gg’s unwavering commitment to integrity, fair play, and robust security measures in esports.
The ESIC Gold Standard for esports betting products represents one of the highest bars in esports betting product compliance and integrity best practices. Fewer than a handful of organizations worldwide have demonstrated the advanced operational protocols, thorough oversight mechanisms, and consistent ethical standards necessary to pass the stringent requirements set by ESIC.
Achieving this level of accreditation signals an organization’s excellence in safeguarding against corruption, match manipulation, and unethical practices—all of which are critical to the continued growth and credibility of esports.
The comprehensive audit evaluated key areas essential to maintaining a fair and secure competitive environment. These areas included physical security, CCTV monitoring, communication device restrictions, referee oversight, and overall compliance with ESIC’s rigorous integrity program. Over the course of the audit, Drafted.gg demonstrated exceptional diligence, meticulous record-keeping, and a forward-thinking approach to maintaining the highest standards of transparency and fair play.
“Drafted.gg joins an elite circle of esports organizations that meet the exceptionally high bar of ESIC Gold Standard compliance,” said Ian Smith, Commissioner of ESIC. “Their rigorous approach to operational integrity meets the benchmark for best practices in esports. We welcome them into the ESIC Gold Standard for Betting Products category.”
The ESIC Gold Standard accreditation highlights Drafted.gg’s robust systems for upholding best practices within esports. From comprehensive background checks and secure access controls to high-quality production techniques, Drafted.gg exemplifies what is possible when an organization aligns every aspect of its operations with the principles of fair competition and ethical conduct. This accreditation also reinforces the integrity of Drafted.gg’s esports content—made available to operators through its partnership with Oddin.gg—helping sportsbooks access compliant, high-quality content for esports betting.
A representative from Drafted.gg remarked: “The entire management team at Drafted.gg is excited about this milestone, as passing ESIC’s Gold Standard audit validates the rigorous integrity measures built into Drafted.gg from day one. From match oversight to data security, Drafted.gg’s operations are designed to meet the highest standards in compliance. This accreditation is not just a milestone—it’s a statement of the company’s ongoing commitment to fair competition and trust in esports.”
The post Drafted.gg Achieves ESIC Gold Standard Accreditation, Joining a Distinguished List of Esports Betting Content Providers appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Bringing hope, joy and essential resources to children and families in need was the main purpose behind the FBM Foundation’s last initiative, in partnership with the National Children’s Hospital and Malasakit Center, on March 10th.
The social responsibility project of the FBM Group hosted a donation campaign delivering toys, school supplies, grocery essentials and critical medical equipment to improve the hospital’s services and bring comfort and joy to over 100 families.
The FBM Foundation aimed to make a meaningful impact on the operations of the National Children’s Hospital and the well-being of its patients. In response, employees from NTT and MEMO generously donated toys, art supplies, school supplies, baby wipes, clothing, and diapers. These contributions brought comfort and joy to young patients undergoing treatment at the hospital.
With the participation of 12 committed volunteers, this initiative counted with the direct involvement of Pepe Costa, FBM Foundation Representative, along with the celebrities Papa Jackson, Giselle Sanchez, and Daniel Matsunaga, who invested their time to bring a different enthusiasm to the day of these children.
Beyond the meaningful gifts, the FBM Foundation also provided critical medical equipment and supplies, such as gauze pads, underpads, wheelchairs, oxygen tanks, ECG machines, infusion pumps, nebulizers, and a vein locator apparatus. To complete the efforts of this donation campaign, the project delivered grocery essentials to 100 families facing medical challenges, offering much-needed support during difficult times.
Part of this initiative was possible by the funds raised from the Keepy-Uppy Charity Challenge during ICE Barcelona 2025. FBMDS not only showcased its latest iGaming innovations at the tradeshow but also turned visitor engagement into a tangible real-world impact. The Keepy-Uppy Charity Challenge successfully transformed participation into crucial donations, directly supporting vulnerable individuals through this important project at the National Children’s Hospital.
By combining the effects of these solidarity gestures, the FBM Foundation expects to improve the patient’s health care and enhance the hospital’s medical services. This initiative stands as a testament to the power of collective compassion by joining the dedication of 12 committed volunteers to the unwavering support of the FBM Foundation partners.
FBM Foundation continues its mission to create a lasting impact by promoting growth and well-being in communities around the world. Visit fbmfoundation.org to learn how you can help the project make a difference.
The post FBM Foundation brings hope, joy and essential aid to National Children’s Hospital appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
iGB L!VE organisers have unveiled designs illustrating the stunning new waterfront social and business networking feature which will be launched at July’s edition, the first to be held in London.
Situated adjacent to the historic Royal Docks, the London Waterfront Experience will involve an iGB L!VE take-over of the Waterfront Street Kitchen and Bar part of ExCeL’s ‘Immerse LDN’ Dock Edge entertainment district. It will include a series of entertainment activations including a centrepiece barge which will be moored at the edge of the dock.
Heralding the exciting new feature which represents a celebration of iGB L!VE’s relocation to London, Global Portfolio Director Naomi Barton said: “ With London’s July sun shining and temperatures reaching the mid-twenties, iGB L!VE’s Waterfront Experience will serve as a dynamic networking and social space. Open throughout the show it will provide a vibrant London-inspired ‘twist’ on the social and business opportunities that the industry loves about iGB L!VE.”
She added: “The London Waterfront Experience will enhance iGB L!VE’s unique chemistry and help deliver another world class event with all elements of the igaming industry ecosystem coming together in a city which is widely regarded as being the heart of the igaming industry.
“iGB L!VE 2025 will deliver unparalleled business opportunities with attendees having free access to the sector’s most influential brands and igaming professionals, occupying over 22,000 sqm of cutting-edge innovation and inspiration.”
iGB L!VE’s relocation to London will enable the event brand to continue its upward trajectory and achieve an ambitious four-year plan targeting 30,000 visitors and 550+ exhibitors/sponsors by 2028.
The post London Waterfront Experience unveiled for iGB L!VE appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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