GigaMedia is the Online Gambling Stock to Watch

The Motley Fool has revealed three stocks to watch for 2009 and one of them is Asian online gambling firm GigaMedia.

While it's hard to find shares of any Chinese company that have escaped punishment recently, online gaming firm GigaMedia has been hit much harder in the past year than rivals like NetEase.com (Nasdaq: NTES) and Shanda Interactive, sending its share price down to the single digits late in the year. But the company remains profitable, and it posted double-digit earnings gains in the third quarter. With no debt and more than $100 million in cash, many investors feel the company is virtually being given away at these prices.

GigaMedia isn't holding back in developing new business, either. The company recently announced its plans to expand its online gambling empire into the sports betting world, partnering with Victor Chandler International Group, one of the world's oldest and best-known online gambling companies, to launch Everest Bets. GigaMedia's Everest Poker is one of the world's most popular poker sites, and Victor's sports betting business already accepts more than 2 million sports betting calls per year in more than 160 countries, providing both companies significant cross-marketing benefits.

Given its low valuation in the face of plentiful future growth potential, 98% of the 2,025 CAPS members rating GigaMedia expect it to outperform the market.

Over the years, it's been especially tough to break into the Asian market.

"Asia and mobile are talked about year after year and the industry seemingly gets nowhere," explains Payton O'Brien, Senior Editor of Gambling911.com.  "There are signs to suggest 2009 will be the year for both though."

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Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com