Best Casino Stocks UK To Watch

Among the various sectors that have gained popularity, Casino stocks prevent investors with another way to diversify funds in 2021.

In this guide, we’ll review 10 popular casino stocks in the UK for 2021.

Popular Casino Stocks UK List

These are 10 popular casino stocks in the UK for 2021:

• Entain PLC (GMVHY) 
• Draftkings (DKNG) 
• Flutter Entertainment PLC (FLTR)
• Las Vegas Sands (LVS) 
• MGM Resorts (MGM)
• The Rank Group PLC (RNK) 
• Penn National Gaming (PENN) 
• Caesars Entertainment (CZR)
• Melco Resorts (MLCO) 
• VanEck Vectors Gaming ETF (BJK)  Popular Casino Stocks UK Reviewed

Let’s take a closer look and review 10 popular Casino stocks that are available for users to purchase in the UK.

1. Entain PLC (GMVHY)

Entian PLC, formerly known as GVC Holdings, is a UK sports betting and casino company that owns well-known brands like Ladbrokes, Coral, Bwin, Partypoker, and Sportingbet. This company has weathered the coronavirus pandemic surprisingly well – over the past 12 months, this FTSE 100 stock has gained a whopping 332%.

Entain has built itself into one of the biggest gambling companies in the UK through a series of smart acquisitions.In addition, the company is benefiting from a long-term deal with MGM Resorts to co-manage an online gambling platform.

2. Draftkings (DKNG)

Draftkings is up 466% in the past year alone.

That’s because Draftkings occupies a niche with a lot of appeal. It merges fantasy sports with online sports betting, and hooks users with tournaments and cash prizes. The company hasn’t turned a profit yet, but that’s in large part because it’s spent so much on advertising to get its name out into the public sphere.

3. Flutter Entertainment PLC (FLTR)

Flutter Entertainment PLC is a holding company formed after the merger of Paddy Power Betfair (PPB), which is listed on Safe Betting Sites UK. The company also owns FanDuel, the most direct competitor to Draftkings in online sports gambling, and online casinos like FOX Bet in the US and Sportsbet.com.au in Australia.

The company was one of the popular online casino stocks in terms of performance over the past year. It posted a gain of 160% since the pandemic market crash last March, and now sports a market cap of over £28 billion.

4. Las Vegas Sands (LVS)

Las Vegas Sands is one of the largest casino operators in the world. Despite that, the company’s share price has lagged far behind its peers in the gambling industry since last March. This casino stock dropped by more than 50% when the coronavirus pandemic shut down Macau and then Las Vegas. Shares have grown by 64% since the crash, but the stock still sits 19% below the level at which it entered 2020.

None of the company’s fundamental attributes have changed over the past year, save for the death of its founder and CEO Sheldon Addelson.

LVS shares have also provided investors with a recent dividend yield of 5.24%.

5. MGM Resorts (MGM)

MGM Resorts is another popular casino operator with resorts in both Las Vegas and Macau. The company was hit hard when in-person gambling shut down, first in China and then in the US, and the share price dropped a devastating 73% in just a few days.

MGM used the low-volume year to focus on its growing sports betting and online casino business, BetMGM. The service was available in 7 US states at the start of last year, but is now available in more than 20. The company expects to resume growth at a rate of 4% per year for the next 5 years.

This NYSE stock has also paid a yield of 1.8% prior to the pandemic. There have been no dividend yields after the beginning of the pandemic.

6. The Rank Group PLC (RNK)

The Rank Group PLC is a popular Casino stock which owns brands like Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casinos, and it’s placed a big bet on the future of online gambling in the UK through its Blue Square platform. In fact, the company’s online gaming revenue rose 23% last summer. The stock is trading at around 7 times expected 2021 earnings, and the share price is still down 40% from its pre-pandemic high. The company also cut its dividend payouts, and these could be reinstated to around a 3% yield as normalcy returns.

7. Penn National Gaming (PENN)

Penn National Gaming had the most incredible 2020 of any casino stock. The company’s shares are up more than 1,250% since last March. In addition, Penn’s market cap jumped from $4 billion before the pandemic to nearly $17 billion today.

A lot of this growth has been thanks to the fact that Penn has an ownership stake in Barstool Sports, an online sports betting app and media platform. Barstool pivoted from betting on sports to betting on stocks during the pandemic, so it’s been in the news a lot. The platform has more than 60 million monthly active users.

8. Caesars Entertainment (CZR)

Caesars Entertainment looked at the COVID-19 pandemic and saw, within crisis, an opportunity. The company made a £2.9 billion all-cash takeover bid for William Hill (WMH), an FTSE-listed casino operator and sports betting company in the UK, last fall. The acquisition sent Caesars’ share price soaring and gave it a foothold in both Las Vegas and London.

Since the Caesars share price bottomed at less than $9 per share last March, investors have been picking up as many shares of this casino stock as possible. It’s now up 870% over the past 12 months.

Despite the stock’s recent run-up, the casino still hasn’t returned to profitability in the wake of the pandemic. In addition 8 of Caesars’ properties are on the Las Vegas Strip, so it’s heavily dependent on Vegas tourism.

9. Melco Resorts (MLCO)

Melco Resorts is a casino operator based in Macau and runs several of the biggest casinos on the Chinese island. As such, it’s more affected by trends in gambling in Asia than in the US or UK.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Meclo Resorts was hit extremely hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and China’s strict lockdown measures. The company lost 57% of its market capitalization. It’s since recovered somewhat, but the share price is still hovering 22% below pre-pandemic levels since China continues to impose strict restrictions on foreign travel.

10. VanEck Vectors Gaming ETF (BJK)

The VanEck Vectors Gaming ETF is the only exchange-traded fund on this list of popular Casino investments. This fund offers instant diversification in your portfolio of casino stocks. Its holdings include Flutter Entertainment, Draftkings, Las Vegas Sands, Caesars, Entain, and more.

The Gaming ETF has done well over the last year, posting a gain of 44.5%. The fund trades on the NASDAQ stock exchange and has net assets of $141 million.

Are Casino Stocks a Valuable Investment?

Casino shares were among the hardest-hit stocks when the coronavirus pandemic caused lockdowns in the UK, US, and China. But they’ve also experienced a fast rebound over the past year, and many bitcoin casino company stocks have exceeded their pre-pandemic prices.

The push into online gambling and sports betting is one factor to consider when analysing the Casino markets. The casino industry is years behind other market sectors in digitization, and the COVID-19 pandemic provided plenty of motivation to accelerate the shift. That means new sources of revenue for gambling companies as they can reach people even when they’re not in Vegas.

Online casino stocks have also benefited from the trend towards legalisation of more modes of gambling. In the US, many states are allowing sports betting for the first time in decades, and that’s created niches for companies like Draftkings and FanDuel (part of Flutter Entertainment PLC).

However, make sure to carry out your own analysis and research before investing in any company.

Popular Stock Brokers that Offer Casino Stocks UK

If you are looking to purchase Casino stocks, it would make sense to do so with a reputable stock broker. Popular casino stocks span the LSE, NYSE, and NASDAQ exchanges, so it’s important to find a broker with a wide range of stock offerings.

Let’s take a closer look at two stock brokerage platforms that allow users to invest in Casino stocks in the UK.

 How to Invest in Casino Stocks in the UK

If users are looking to invest in Casino stocks in the UK, you may look to choose a suitable broker that can provide you with low fees, multiple stock options and additional tools & features.

After choosing your suitable broker, here is how you can begin the investment process.

Step 1: Open Account

Head over to the homepage of your chosen broker and begin the account set-up process. You will be required to fill in your personal details – including your full name, email address and mobile number. Create a username and password for the platform to continue.

Step 2: Verification

Most reputable brokers in the UK are regulated by the FCA – which is why users may be required to verify their accounts. To do this, simply upload proof of ID (a copy of your driver’s license or passport) and proof of address (a copy of a bank statement or utility bill). Once these documents have been uploaded, your broker should verify them in a couple of minutes.

Step 3: Deposit funds

The next step is to deposit funds into your trading account. Most brokers may support 1 or more of the following payment methods:

• Credit card
• Debit card
• Bank transfer
• e-wallet

Choose your preferred payment option and deposit the funds into your account.

Step 4: Invest in Casino Stocks

Once your account has been funded, proceed to search for any Casino stocks or any other stock you wish to purchase on your platform’s search bar. Fill in the amount you want to credit into the trade, and confirm your transaction.

Conclusion

Casinos were hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, but many have bounced back and the stocks have exceeded their pre-pandemic price levels. Casinos are expecting an influx of visitors and many companies are expanding into online gambling and sports betting.

Due to the uncertainty in the market, users should make sure to conduct their own separate research and analyse the company’s financials and stock, prior to their investment.

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