Gambling in the USA

5 Ways Investors are Betting on a 2019 Gambling Boom

Published

7 years ago

January 15, 2019

Photo Source: coindesk.com

FN Media Group Presents Safehaven.com Market Commentary

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.

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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

Gambling in the USA

Scientific Games’ iLottery Games Portfolio Expands as Pixiu Gaming Joins SG Content Hub

Published

1 week ago

July 21, 2025

Zoltan Tundik

Exciting New Hasbro-Licensed MONOPOLY and BATTLESHIP iLottery Games Coming Via SG Content Hub

Scientific Games welcomed Pixiu Gaming as the newest studio partner to the SG Content Hub. Pixiu Gaming joins the government-regulated lottery industry’s premier iLottery content delivery platform, featuring an expanding, highly curated selection of iLottery games from Scientific Games and partner studios around the globe. The games are available to lotteries in multiple languages and in a variety of play styles for all player segments.

Widely recognized as the leading supplier of Keno games in North American regulated gaming markets, Pixiu Gaming is a boutique developer focused on authentic, engaging and player-centric games. Founded in 2014 and based in London, UK with a remote global team, Pixiu is named after a fierce Chinese mythical creature that attracts and preserves great wealth.

Scientific Games, the world’s largest lottery games company, is collaborating with Pixiu Gaming to bring exciting new MONOPOLY and BATTLESHIP iLottery games to lotteries through its exclusive licensing agreement with Hasbro. Games created by Pixiu Gaming will be available in the SG Content Hub, in addition to games from Scientific Games’ own SG Studios and other premier partner studios worldwide.

Tony Plaskow, Pixiu Gaming Co-Founder, said, “Pixiu Gaming is thrilled to join the SG Content Hub to bring our games to more lotteries. We look forward to working with Scientific Games and Hasbro to create exciting, brand-sensitive MONOPOLY and BATTLESHIP-themed iLottery game experiences. These iconic brands are familiar worldwide, and each provides the perfect mix of strategy and luck. We will weave a true-to-brand digital game experience with fun, simple-to-understand content that entertains players.”

Matt Lynch, President, Digital for Scientific Games, said, “We are very excited to partner with Pixiu Gaming, an up-and-coming studio. Their unique approach to game development and artistic vision brings a differentiated offering to market that will add depth to iLottery portfolios by expanding game play options for existing players while bringing new game experiences to attract new players. Scientific Games is focused on creating an unparalleled range of playstyles and game mechanics for players with the SG Content Hub, and we are proud to soon include play experiences from Pixiu Gaming.”

SG Content Hub offers partner studios select exclusively licensed brands from the company’s portfolio of more than 100 licensed brands, which also includes other Hasbro-licensed games such as CONNECT 4, THE GAME OF LIFE and YAHTZEE. MONOPOLY is perennially the lottery industry’s top performer, with 33 lotteries worldwide offering MONOPOLY-themed games in fiscal year 2025, resulting in more than $2 billion in retail and digital sales during the year.

Scientific Games provides retail and digital games, technology, analytics and services to 150 lotteries in 50 countries worldwide. The company is a digital lottery innovator offering lotteries entertaining game content featuring the most extensive portfolio of licensed brands in the industry, and world-leading digital programs, including CRM, loyalty, promotions, second chance, mobile and web applications.

The MONOPOLY name and logo, the distinctive design of the game board, the four corner squares, the MR. MONOPOLY name and character, as well as each of the distinctive elements of the board and playing pieces are trademarks of Hasbro for its property trading game and game equipment. © 1935, 2025 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. Licensed by Hasbro.

Gambling in the USA

Caesars Entertainment Bolsters Online Casino Live Dealer Offering with the Launch of Branded Live Dealer Studio in Michigan

Published

2 weeks ago

July 17, 2025

Niji Narayan

Caesars Entertainment Inc. announced the launch of its third branded online casino live dealer studio, available now to players on Caesars Palace Online Casino, Horseshoe Online Casino and Caesars Sportsbook & Casino in Michigan. Developed in partnership with Evolution, the new studio reinforces Caesars’ commitment to delivering world-class, immersive experiences across its online platforms, inspired by the iconic atmosphere of its Caesars Rewards destinations.

The debut of the new studio marks Caesars’ third branded live dealer studio that has opened in 2025 and draws inspiration from table game play at the Las Vegas Strip’s most iconic casino, Caesars Palace. Its opening follows the successful launch of Caesars’ first branded studio with Evolution in Pennsylvania in January. In April, the Company also debuted its first studio inside a Caesars Rewards destination at Tropicana Atlantic City in New Jersey.

“Our third live dealer studio expands our fully customized live dealer experience that is already extremely popular in Pennsylvania and New Jersey into another key jurisdiction where our online casino platforms are live. The studio design takes inspiration from our flagship destination, Caesars Palace, to authentically recreate the atmosphere of Las Vegas for online players. We look forward to our Michigan players enjoying the new experience,” said Matthew Sunderland, Senior Vice President and Chief iGaming Officer at Caesars Digital.

The new live dealer studio in The Great Lakes State is composed of five blackjack tables, including a VIP-exclusive blackjack table, one roulette table, and one baccarat table. The tables are adorned with custom-branded felts featuring iconic Caesars destinations and each marquee online casino platform, including Caesars Palace Online Casino, Caesars Sportsbook & Casino, Horseshoe Online Casino, and, for the first time, Tropicana Online Casino.

Select tables also feature custom felts co-branded through partnerships with professional sports teams. Like Caesars Rewards destinations across North America, the studio caters to VIP players with an exclusive high-limit blackjack table offering an authentic 1-to-1 live experience that could previously only be found in a physical casino.

“As the global leader in online live casino with nearly two decades of experience, Evolution is proud to partner once again with Caesars to launch this bespoke live dealer studio in Michigan. The studio brings the unmistakable character of Caesars’ iconic destinations to the online space, offering players in the state a polished, immersive entertainment experience that mirrors the energy and elegance of the casino floor. It’s another bold step forward in our shared commitment to innovation and quality at scale in the online live casino market,” said Marcus Huber, Chief Commercial Officer of Evolution North America.

Caesars Palace Online Casino, Horseshoe Online Casino and Caesars Sportsbook & Casino are available on iOS, Android, and desktop for those 21 and older in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ontario, and West Virginia. Each platform offers a dynamic online casino experience with a range of unique Caesars-branded games alongside hundreds of classic land-based casino favorites and core casino game mechanics, including high limit slots, private live dealer tables, linked progressive jackpots, variations of poker and roulette, and more.

Gambling in the USA

Snoqualmie Casino & Hotel Unveils Expanded Non-Smoking Gaming Floor

Published

3 weeks ago

July 8, 2025

Niji Narayan

Snoqualmie Casino & Hotel has officially opened its newly expanded non-smoking gaming floor, marking a significant milestone in the property’s continued commitment to exceptional guest experiences.

Located adjacent to the hotel lobby, the new, larger non-smoking slot floor will feature nearly 400 of today’s most popular slot machines in a fresh, modern environment designed exclusively for non-smoking guests. This addition enhances the casino’s dedication to providing smoke-free gaming options in a luxury setting. For convenience and ease of access, non-smoking guests can also take advantage of the smoke-free entrance via the hotel’s valet parking.

This new space complements Snoqualmie Casino & Hotel’s existing fully enclosed, non-smoking slot area near Falls Buffet and Snoqualmie Café & Deli, offering guests even more choice and accessibility when it comes to their preferred gaming environment.

In addition to these gaming enhancements, all restaurants on property are 100% non-smoking, making Snoqualmie Casino & Hotel a premier destination for guests seeking an elevated, smoke-free entertainment and dining experience.

“We’re thrilled to offer our guests even more smoke-free options. The expansion of our non-smoking gaming floor reflects our ongoing efforts to listen to our guests and create an atmosphere that’s both exciting and comfortable for everyone,” said Mary Lou Patterson, CEO of Snoqualmie Casino & Hotel.