Best iGaming Stocks To Watch In 2021

The term “iGaming” was first coined in the early 2000s and is a shortened form of the identification of “internet gaming.” The term has grown to be used to reference a variety of online gaming and gambling activities. It is most often mistakenly used in association with online casinos and online poker rooms but iGaming encompasses so much more. It is also a reference to sports betting, eSports betting, binary trading, and cryptocurrencies. What makes iGaming so interesting is that online casinos and sportsbooks are two formats that experienced continued growth during the pandemic. This makes them, and other iGaming entities stable and valuable options for a stock investment portfolio. Surprisingly, there are several iGaming stocks on the market. Here is a look at some of the best ones worth watching in the coming year.

1 – DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG)

There are a lot of reasons why DraftKings tops our list. First off, they had their initial public offering in 2020. DraftKings is also more than an online company. It is involved in online sports betting, offers online casino gambling, distribution of casino gaming products and casino gaming platform software, has a partnership with ESPN, has NBA legend Michael Jordan as a special advisor to the DraftKings company board of directors, and has become the official sports betting partner of the NFL. DraftKings reported revenue of $322 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, up 146% from the same period in 2019. The company has also forecast the total revenue for 2021 to be between $900 million and $1 billion. That would be an increase from 2020’s total of between $750 million and $850 million.

2 – Flutter Entertainment (OTC: PDYPF)

This gaming and sports betting company operates several of the largest online bookies in several countries around the world including the US, Canada, Australia, Italy, Ireland, and the United Kingdom to name a few. Flutter came from an interesting past that goes back to 2017 when DraftKings and FanDuel were planning to merge. That got called off and DraftKings eventually merged with a SPAC and FanDuel joined Betfair’s US operations known as Paddy Power in 2018. The shareholders of Paddy Power took a 61% stake in the new entity and in 2019 the Paddy Power name was changed to Flutter Entertainment. Plans are in the works for a partial IPO with FanDuel. Flutter reached a $12.2 billion deal with Stars Group (TSG) in 2020. Stars operate the world’s largest poker site, PokerStars and after the acquisition, Flutter shareholders got 55% of the company with the balance going to TSG investors. Flutter has weathered the pandemic well reaping benefits from its many online ventures.

3 – Penn National Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN)

Along with subsidiaries, Penn National Gaming Inc. owns and operates a total of 41 racing and gaming properties in 19 different jurisdictions. The partnership with Barstool Sports has brought the company much in the way of positive publicity. The attraction to Penn National stocks stems from the fact that Barstool has over 66 million monthly users that can be converted to sports bettors. Although the fourth-quarter earnings in 2020 were down for Penn National, the management team remains optimistic that 2021 will be a banner year with much of the credit going to the partnership with Barstool Sports.

4 – Golden Nugget Online Gaming (NASDAQ: GNOG)

Golden Nugget Online Gaming operates online casinos and sportsbooks and has an 8% market share of the iGaming market in the United States. Revenues in 2020 have been reported to be estimated at between $90 and $91 million, an increase of 63% from 2019. Earlier in 2021, GNOG announced a 20-year strategic partnership with Tioga Downs Race Track to access the New York online gaming market. Golden Nugget currently operates in eight states including New Jersey, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Louisiana, Nevada, Mississippi, and West Virginia.

5 – MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM)

This company owns and operates several casino resorts, entertainment opportunities, conventions, hotels, and gaming amenities. The MGM brand is well known across the globe although the properties are located in the United States and Macau. COVID-19 restrictions hit the MGM land-based casinos hard in 2020 but the online casino brand of BetMGM saw a great deal of expansion. in late 2020, the NFL’s Detroit Lions inked a partnership deal with BetMGM and two months later, the same deal was struck with the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders. The same month, the NBA Philadelphia 76ers signed a partnership agreement with BetMGM. In January 2021, BetMGM and leading digital sports media company The Athletic joined forces which will result in more online betting options.

6 – GAN Limited (NASDAQ: GAN)

GAN is the Game Account Network. It offers and distributes online gaming software and services. The company went public in May 2020 and sold 6.4 million shares at $8.50 per share. What makes GAN such an attractive investment is that one of its products is a turnkey technology solution for regulated online sports betting and online casino gaming applications. The technology has two segments. One is Simulated iGaming (SiG) operations and the other is Real Money iGaming (RMiG) operations. The share price for GAN has fluctuated considerably since they went public with trading prices as low as $10.60 and as high as $28.95 making it an interesting addition to any investment portfolio.

Final Thoughts

It is safe to say that iGaming is much more than just a fad, which means it will be around for a while. With the continual evolution of new technology, expect to see innovative iGaming solutions soon. With this in mind, it becomes obvious that investing in iGaming stock is going to be a good investment no matter how you slice it. The list above is just of a handful of the bigger names in the iGaming industry and by no means represents all that is available. Should you invest in iGaming stocks? With the promising future in this industry, it sounds like one of the most logical investments to make.