Investors are Betting Big on a Potentially Massive Casino Comeback
Investors are betting big on casino stocks again. Just months after the pandemic drained the industry, millions of gamblers are coming back. It’s why, according to the American Gaming Association (AGA), that gross gaming revenue for the first quarter toped $11 billion. In fact, as reported by Casino.org, “Despite the virus certainly not behind the US, gaming industry revenue in 2021 is off to a blistering start. The $11.13 billion total GGR number matches the previous all-time record quarter set in the first three months of 2019.” That’s great news for companies such as Jackpot Digital Inc. (TSXV:JJ)(OTCQB:JPOTF), Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ:PENN), MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM), Draftkings (NASDAQ:DKNG), and FansUnited Entertainment Inc. (CSE:FANS)(OTC:FUNFF).
“Nevada casinos collected a single-month record of $1.23 billion in gaming revenues during May, a stunning figure given that most casinos statewide were still operating under capacity restrictions that weren’t fully lifted until June 1,” as reported by The Nevada Independent. “The record figure easily eclipsed the state’s previous single-month high of $1.165 billion recorded in October 2007.”
Again, that’s big news for companies like Jackpot Digital Inc. (TSXV:JJ)(OTCQB:JPOTF)
Jackpot Digital Inc. announced that the Soboba Casino Resort, located in Southern California, has ordered additional Jackpot Blitz™ electronic table games (ETGs). Soboba initially ordered two Jackpot Blitz™ ETGs and has now increased their order to a total of six tables, creating a fully automated digital poker room.
Jackpot’s President and CEO, Jake Kalpakian, states “Soboba’s confidence in our revolutionary Jackpot Blitz™ ETG reinforces Jackpot’s role as the leading provider of electronic poker table games. We are excited to be working alongside Soboba in providing their guests with a fun, new and exciting entertainment experience. As casinos and cruise ships continue to re-open around the world, brand new orders as well as order-upsizes such as this are illustrative of the exciting growth opportunities our Company has.”
Mr. Stewart Madden, Director of Table Games at Soboba Casino Resort, states “Jackpot Blitz is an innovative, cool, fun and entertaining product and opens poker to a new group of players. From the operations side it takes a labor heavy department and makes it lean and profitable, and we are excited for the future.”
Mr. Kalpakian continues “Jackpot is focused on increasing its land-based footprint and is well-positioned to lead the market as a premier provider of poker and other multiplayer electronic card games. Our focus is to continually add proven and popular specialized games that are not yet available in a digital ETG format. Our ETGs are growing in popularity, and we are very confident that more and more casino/card room operators will install our Jackpot Blitz™ tables in their casinos.”
Other related developments from around the markets include:
Penn National Gaming announced that it has received final approval from the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission to acquire the operations of Hollywood Casino Perryville. Penn National entered into a definitive agreement with Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. in December 2020 to acquire the operations of Hollywood Casino Perryville for $31.1 million in cash, subject to certain customary working capital adjustments. Simultaneous with the closing of the transaction, Penn National will enter into a lease with GLPI for the real estate assets associated with the Hollywood Casino Perryville facility with annual rent of approximately $7.77 million.
MGM Resorts International and Entain PLC’s BetMGM, a Glassdoor-recognized Top Place to Work, is pleased to announce that its Chief Executive Officer, Adam Greenblatt, has been named one of the Top CEOs in 2021 in the U.S. Small and Medium Business (SMB) category on Glassdoor. Glassdoor released its annual award recognizing today highlighting top leaders that employees love working for in countries throughout North America and parts of Europe. "From the company's inception, we clearly defined the culture we wanted to create, rooted strongly in our core values of transparency, empathy and agility, so to receive this recognition and generous feedback from BetMGM employees is extremely meaningful," said BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt. "I look forward to further strengthening our company culture as we continue to support the needs of our growing, talented and ambitious team."
Draftkings Inc. announced the addition of DK Craps to its mobile Casino suite in New Jersey with Pennsylvania, Michigan and West Virginia to follow pending regulatory approval. The game is a DraftKings-exclusive and built in house. The launch of DK Craps expands on 494 existing DraftKings Casino games across approved states, 50 of which have been built leveraging DraftKings in-house talent and technology. “As the most realistic craps game on the market, we are excited to offer a premier online experience within our top-rated Casino product,” said Jason March, DraftKings Vice President, iGaming. “Craps was a challenging game to develop given the seemingly endless paths players can take, so I could not be prouder of our internal teams taking on this game development to deliver an authentic experience.”
FansUnited Entertainment Inc. announced that the Company has appointed Anna Smith as the Head of Compliance. With more than 10 years of gaming industry experience, Smith has built a successful career working in anti-money laundering, fraud detection, payments and investigations. For the last three years, she has held the role of a Money Laundering Reporting Officer at several well-recognized international gambling companies that operate in the U.K. and Malta jurisdictions. In addition, she has worked as a Fraud Analyst at bet365, an immensely popular British sports betting operator.
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