Latest News
Casino Stocks Are Crashing – Is This the First Domino to Fall?
Casino stocks are taking a beating, and investors are paying attention. Over the past three months, shares of major gaming companies have plunged, with some losing nearly a third of their value.
It’s a sharp reversal from the post-pandemic boom, raising questions about what’s happening. Are consumers pulling back? Is Las Vegas losing its luster? Or is this an early warning sign of something bigger, like a possible U.S. recession?
The Numbers: Casino Stocks Down Double Digits
If you’ve been following the markets, you’ve seen the red ink spreading across the gaming sector. Since the start of the year, stocks of America’s biggest casino operators have fallen across the board:
Caesars Entertainment (-33.46%) and Las Vegas Sands (-23.35%) are leading the decline, but it’s not just them. MGM is down nearly 18%, and even Wynn Resorts, which fared the best, lost 4.44%.
What’s Behind the Drop?
It’s not one thing – it’s a cocktail of economic pressures, policy shifts, and changing consumer habits that are hitting casinos where it hurts.
1. Americans Are Watching Their Wallets
When the economy tightens, luxury spending is often the first thing to go. Casino visits aren’t a necessity, and early signs suggest that discretionary spending is starting to slow. Inflation has been eating into real wages, interest rates remain high, and household debt levels are creeping up. If consumers are feeling the squeeze, gambling revenues are one of the first places you’ll see it reflected.
2. Las Vegas Tourism Isn’t Bouncing Back Like Before
Las Vegas thrived in the post-pandemic reopening boom, but that momentum might be fading. Canadian tourists, who are a key demographic for Vegas, are visiting less due to the strong U.S. dollar and a weaker Canadian economy. Meanwhile, high-end Chinese tourism, which casinos rely on for their biggest spenders, is still struggling. Economic uncertainty and stricter money transfer rules in China have kept many of those gamblers at home.
3. Trade Policies and Global Uncertainty
The Trump administration’s renewed trade disputes with China and Canada aren’t helping either. Retaliatory tariffs could slow economic activity and dampen consumer confidence. If the broader economy starts to weaken, luxury sectors like casinos could take a bigger hit.
“Don’t blame it all on Trump’s erratic trade policies. They play a role, but there’s a bigger picture at play. China’s slowing down, the post-pandemic boom is receding, and the market is beginning to wrangle with serious questions about debt, the deficit, and a slowdown in government spending” – James from Nowagercasinos.com
4. Why Caesars and Las Vegas Sands Are Taking the Worst Hits
Not all casino stocks are created equal. Caesars Entertainment’s heavy reliance on the U.S. market, especially Las Vegas, makes it more vulnerable to domestic slowdowns. Add in its $12 billion debt load, and you have a recipe for investor nervousness. Rising interest rates make refinancing more expensive, and if revenue slows, Caesars could be in a tough spot.
Las Vegas Sands, on the other hand, has no U.S. casino presence anymore – it bet everything on Asia. That means its stock is almost entirely tied to Macao and Singapore. If China’s economy slows or travel restrictions tighten, it feels the pain immediately. That’s likely why its shares have been hit so much harder than Wynn’s, which still has a mix of U.S. and international operations.
Recession Warning or Just an Industry Correction?
So, what does this all mean? Is the casino sector flashing a warning sign for the broader economy? Maybe, but it’s not a slam-dunk case for a full-blown recession.
Gaming stocks are highly sensitive to sentiment. Investors could simply be rotating out of high-risk, consumer discretionary stocks due to interest rate worries. That’s happened before, without an actual recession following.
That said, if casino revenues start declining sharply in upcoming earnings reports, that could indicate a real consumer pullback. And if that’s happening at the same time as weak retail sales, rising unemployment, and slowing GDP growth, then we’ve got a bigger problem on our hands.
For now, the sharp drop in casino stocks is worth watching, but it’s not necessarily time to hit the panic button. At least, not yet!
Latest News
Industry-first: Dynamic, ‘Live Data’ feature in ads drives up to 20% growth in first-time depositors for iGaming customers
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Creatopy’s new Live Data feature connects creative assets to real-time data streams, enabling brands to deliver ads that update automatically based on live variables such as odds, pricing, availability or performance metrics
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iGaming customers experience up to a 20% uplift in first-time depositors in the first 3 months of their campaign
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Superbet is the latest company to adopt this new feature
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Initial Live Data release also popular among travel, finance, retail and entertainment sectors
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This news also follows a series of senior leadership appointments, including: Maikao Grare (CFO), Thibault Imbert (Chief Product & Growth Officer) and Ovidiu Gavril (CTO)
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Personalisation: allowing for ad delivery that precisely aligns with real-time audience interests, shifting market conditions or changes in available inventory.
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Real-time performance: displaying up-to-the-minute prices, availability or exclusive offers, which in turn create a sense of urgency and significantly boost conversion rates.
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Transparent metrics: showcasing verifiable, live information directly within the ad creative – this fosters greater trust and authenticity with consumers.
Compliance Updates
PHAI Files Lawsuit in Pennsylvania Over Caesars’ Dangerous Online Casino Promotion and “Pay Through Bonuses”
The Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI), a nonprofit advocacy organization that continues to lead the movement to develop a comprehensive public health response to the threat posed by the gambling industry, announced a new lawsuit filed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, seeking to expose and stop an alleged dangerous, misleading, and illegal “deposit match” promotion by Caesars Online Casino and its brick-and-mortar partner Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino.
In this promotion, Caesars and its partners are luring new customers with a false and misleading promise of a “$2500 deposit match,” according to the lawsuit. Only in the small-print terms and conditions is it disclosed that a new customer playing Blackjack is required to gamble and risk $375,000 in just the first seven days after opening an account. In other words, no money or winnings can be withdrawn unless a total of $375,000 is gambled and risked. All money lost during the first 7-day period is kept by Caesars and Harrah’s Casino.
The lawsuit alleged that Caesars and its partners have effectively rewritten the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by mandating that new customers gamble up to $375,000 before being paid any of their winnings. The public is not told that the promotion is designed to snare new customers in a “wild chase of action,” where the bonus is unattainable and therefore impossible to win.
Under the leadership of Executive Director Mark Gottlieb, PHAI continues to spearhead the burgeoning movement to bring comprehensive public health change to the threat posed by the gambling industry and its partners across the US.
Gottlieb said: “We know the gambling industry, with the assistance of the American Gaming Association (AGA) and the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS), is aggressively attempting to push the legalization of online casino gambling across the United States. Thus far, the seven states with online casino gambling seem ill-prepared or unwilling to regulate the wild tactics of the industry. This promotion, engineered by Caesars, is among the most egregious we have seen to date.”
Dr. Harry Levant, Director of Gambling Policy at PHAI, warned that Caesars and others in the gambling industry are acting with impunity, disregarding existing laws, and placing the public directly at risk.
According to Dr. Levant: “It is unconscionable for a gambling company to knowingly require people to gamble excessively and put their mental health at risk as a condition to cash out their winnings. More importantly, nothing in Pennsylvania’s gambling rules or laws permits a casino to refuse payment unless and until customers begin gambling to excess. This is dangerous to Caesar’s customers, immoral, and just plain wrong.”
PHAI Director of Litigation Andrew Rainer, Esq., said: “PHAI continues to utilize the courts to protect clients and the public from unreasonable risks of harm caused by the negligent, careless, and reckless conduct of the gambling industry.”
PHAI Founder and President. Dr. Richard Daynard said: “The mission of the Public Health Advocacy Institute is to protect public health and advance social justice. The days of the gambling industry disregarding public health and safety are coming to an end. When Caesars doesn’t play fair, it puts players’ health at risk.”
The case is Brubaker vs Chester Downs and Marina LLC et al. (Ct of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County, First Judicial District, Case ID 250602325).
In December 2023, PHAI and its Center for Public Health Litigation filed a class action suit against DraftKings in Massachusetts that garnered nationwide headlines. In August 2024, a judge in Massachusetts denied DraftKings’ motion to dismiss, allowing the litigation to move forward.
In October 2024, PHAI filed a lawsuit against the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, asking the court to compel the MGC to adhere to state law and turn over data that casinos compile to track player behavior. Under Section 97 of the Expanded Gaming Act, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is required to collect behavioral data from casino operators and share anonymized customer data with researchers. This data is essential for analyzing what casino practices are causing harm and who is being harmed. The Gaming Commission has been subject to the legal requirement to collect this data since its formation in 2011. Now, more than a decade later, the Commission has yet to collect a single piece of data from any licensee or make any data available to researchers.
Latest News
High Roller Technologies to Present at the Small Cap Growth Virtual Investor Conference on June 26
High Roller Technologies Inc., operator of award-winning premium online casino brands High Roller and Fruta, announced that Seth Young, SVP Corporate Strategy & Investor Relations, will present live at the Small Cap Growth Virtual Investor Conference hosted by VirtualInvestorConferences.com, on June 26, 2025
DATE: June 26
TIME: 12:00 PM ET
Available for 1×1 meetings: July 1, 2025
This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the company questions in real-time. If attendees are not able to join the event live on the day of the conference, an archived webcast will also be made available after the event.
It is recommended that online investors pre-register and run the online system check to expedite participation and receive event updates.
Learn more about the event at virtualinvestorconferences.com.
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