Gaming Stocks Surge on US Supreme Court Decision

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on sports betting that will now permit individual states to allow the activity at their own discretion.

The decision sent a number of gaming stocks surging on Monday. Among those stocks seeing upward mobility: UK bookmaker William Hill closed up 10.7 per cent and Paddy Power Betfair, another British bookie, surged 12.2 per cent higher.

Churchill Downs, which owns five racetracks and six casinos, was up 5.5 per cent in afternoon trading while casino group Caesars Entertainment rose more than 8 per cent. “This is a historic moment,” said David Jennings, a gambling analyst at Davy, the Irish stockbroker. “A lot of individual states will see this as an opportunity to raise taxes and regulate it legally for the first time.”

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com