The year 2020 has proven to be huge for the online casino industry. With bricks and mortar casinos around the world having been forced to shut down – at least temporarily – due to the coronavirus crisis, playing online has become a lot more popular among the general public.
What that means is investing in online casino companies could prove to be a smart move in the coming weeks and months. Here are 10 businesses we believe are well worth watching.
10. NetEnt
Trading on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, NetEnt is a leading company in the development of games for online casinos.
The Swedish firm has seen its share price rise by a substantial amount during the coronavirus and it seems to have a very bright future indeed.
Founded in 1996, NetEnt now employs more than 1,000 people and the company has over 200 active customers, including some of the world’s largest online casino operators.
The Corona Bump
9. LeoVegas
Another Swedish online casino company to watch is LeoVegas, which like NetEnt has seen a strong increase in the value of its stocks during the global pandemic.
The initial stock market offering from LeoVegas was back in 2016 and the company has been going from strength to strength ever since.
Pixel Holding Group is among the companies to have been snapped up by LeoVegas of late, with a 51 per cent stake in the business purchased a couple of years ago.
8. Catena Media
An intriguing option for investors right now is Catena Media, which was founded in 2012 and now employs around 400 people around the world, though its main base is located in Malta.
It seems that every day there is a new affiliate site which certainly doesn’t help Catena Media’s future, though the company appears to be in a prime position to capitalize on the increasing legalization of online gambling across the United States.
As more states look to give the green light to online gambling, Catena Media could reap the rewards and the company’s stocks have been rising at a steady pace in recent months.
7. DraftKings
Another company ready to make the most of online gambling rules and regulations being changed in the US is DraftKings, which started out as a daily fantasy sports operator.
Nowadays, DraftKings also runs a popular sportsbook and online casino, with the company having its fingers in an increasing number of pies.
Since April 2020, DraftKings stocks have been rising quickly but there still seems to be plenty of room for the company’s value to increase further in the future.
6. GVC
British sports betting and gambling company GVC owns brands like Bwin, Coral and Ladbrokes, which are some of the biggest betting firms in Europe.
GVC has been looking to make moves into the US market and now has a partnership with MGM Resorts International.
If GVC can crack the US, the company’s future could be extraordinarily bright.
5. Flutter Entertainment
The price of Flutter Entertainment stocks is up by around 100 per cent since April, so this is definitely an online casino company to be watching closely right now.
Flutter Entertainment is a holding company with brands like Paddy Power, Betfair, Pokerstars and Sky Bet, with the firm listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Late last year, Flutter said the company would be buying The Stars Group, a major Canadian gambling company, in a move that makes it even more powerful. Flutter has also bought FanDuel in a move that positions it to break further into the US market in the future.
4. Kindred Group
Kindred Group stocks are also up by more than 100 per cent in the last few months.
The company, which has brands like Unibet, Maria Casino and 32Red, recorded revenues in excess of £750 million in 2017.
In a bid to break the US, Kindred has set up deals with the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City and the Mohegan Sun Pocono casino in recent years.
3. International Game Technology
Progress in the share price of International Game Technology has been steady over the course of 2020, but the company is a major player in the world of online gambling.
IGT, which is controlled by De Agostini, works with gaming operators across 100 countries so the firm is truly global.
2. GAN
While GAN does not have the public profile of some of the other online casino companies we have picked out in this list, it is a key player behind the scenes.
GAN is a B2B provider to the iGaming sector and the company has scooped prizes such as being named the Freeplay Supplier of the Year and the Casino Platform (Supplier) of the Year.
Already embedded in the US market, GAN could build quickly in the coming years. More to the point, the company is already profitable.
1. Playtech
Gambling software company Playtech wraps up our list of online casino firms to watch in 2020.
Headquartered in Douglas, Isle of Man, Playtech has more than two decades of experience in the industry and is listed on the London Stock Exchange where its share price has spiked in the last few months, due to the coronavirus crisis.
More than 500 games have been released by Playtech, making it among the industry’s most prolific companies so far.