Five Online Gaming and Betting Stocks That Are Worth Paying Attention To

Summary

• Online businesses have been booming during the Corona season
• Gaming and betting companies providing online services witnessed strong growth
• 888 Holdings Plc has extended its contract with Delaware Lottery by further two years

The coronavirus pandemic provided a massive boost to the fortunes of internet-enabled businesses in the United Kingdom and all across the world. Online retailing of essential commodities saw maximum growth during the period, followed by other services like online publishing, online banking, gaming, and online betting. Today we are going to discuss five gaming and betting related companies that have performed well over the past four months since the time the lockdown had come into effect.

1. GVC Holdings Plc – (LON:GVC) GVC Holdings Plc is making good progress with its investment BetMGM in the United States. The company on 9 June 2020 came to an agreement with its joint owner in the company MGM Resorts international to infuse a second round of funding into the company, which will take the total funds invested in the company to $450 million.

BetMGM is a US-based sports betting and iGaming company which started operations in 2018. The company has grown significantly since its inception and is all set to operate in 11 states in the US by the end of 2020.

Back in the UK, the shares of the company have been performing well on the London stock exchange since the beginning of the lockdown. On 23 March 2020, the shares of the company were trading at GBX 352.9 while on 9 July 2020 it was trading at GBX 836.00 (13:20 PM GMT), gaining a whopping 136.89 per cent during the period.

2. Gamesys Group Plc – (LON:GYS) Gamesys Group Plc is one of the well-known online gaming and gambling companies in the UK. On 23 April, this year the company announced its first-quarter results, where it was reported that its revenue grew by 19 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2019. On the same day, the company also announced that it would be dropping some of its online advertising campaigns in order to protect children and vulnerable groups during the lockdown period. The company also reported that it has increased customer deposit limits by 45 per cent, player chatroom engagement increased by 38 per cent, and a 10 per cent rise was witnessed in non-wagering chat sessions since the lockdown began.

On 23 March 2020, the day when the lockdown was imposed the shares of the company were trading at GBX 690.00, and on 9 July 2020 (13:13 PM GMT), the shares of the company were trading at GBX 875.00, gaining 26.81 per cent during the period.

3. William Hill Plc – (LON:WMH) William Hill provides a range of online gaming and gambling services, including sports betting. Since the time the lockdown was imposed, its sports betting vertical took a beating along with physical betting shops which were forced to close down, whereas its other online verticals continued to trade. After the opening of the lockdown, the company has been witnessing an uptick in its business activity, and with the gradual resumption of sporting events, the company would see a steady recovery.

The shares of the company were trading at GBX 41.38 on 23 March 2020, and since then they have risen to be trading at GBX 117.45 on 9 July 2020 (13:26 PM GMT), gaining 183.83 per cent during the period.

4. 888 Holdings Plc – (LON:888) 888 Holdings Plc is a British online gaming and gambling company that owns several popular online gaming and gambling brands in the country in addition to providing software services to clients helping them operate their networks.

The company on 6 July 2020 announced that it has been able to extend its contract with Delaware Lottery by a further two years. Delaware lottery uses 888's technology platform to offer online casino games and online poker to players in the Delaware state in the USA and also allows them to play against interstate players from New Jersey and Nevada in a safe and secure environment.

The shares of this company also performed exceedingly well on the London stock exchange since the lockdown was imposed in the UK. On 23 March 2020 when the lockdown was imposed the shares of the company were trading at GBX 83.50 which climbed up to GBX 174.60 on 9 July 2020 (12:16 PM GMT), whereby gaining 109.10 per cent during the period.

5. Playtech Plc – (LON:PTEC) Playtech Plc is a British software company that develops software for online gaming and gambling companies and also provides related support services. While the company provides services for online casinos, online bingos, scratch games, online sports betting and online poker games, its software are also available across the platform in both fixed terminal as well as mobile devices.

The company has seen an increased demand for its services since the lockdown was imposed. The high growth of business activity in the online gaming and gambling space has led to an increased demand for new software installation and servicing, which is providing a boost to the company.

Since the beginning of the lockdown, the shares of the company have continued to gain at the London Stock exchange. On 23 March 2020, the shares of the company were trading at GBX 150.00, and it rose to GBX 301.60 on 9 July 2020 (12:52 PM GMT), gaining 101.07 per cent during the period.

The above five companies are among some of gaming and gambling industry stocks that have performed well since the lockdown was imposed in the country. There are several other small as well as mid-sized companies in the online space which have also done exceedingly well during the period.

It is also worth noting here that NHS ( National Health Services) and several MP's had raised concerns that lockdown has increased the threat of children and other vulnerable groups of people in the country falling prey to the addiction of gambling. The NHS had made requests to the gaming companies to reduce their advertising during this period and also take adequate precautions so that these class of people may be protected.