UKGC releases gambling white paper, proposing 18 changes to protect consumers. Entain, Playtech, and 888 iGaming shares appear to react! (Image by Pabitra Kaity at Pixabay.com)
The big news last week in the iGaming industry was the UKGC has finally released the long-awaited UK gambling white paper, which had been updated from the 2005 regulations. The government tackled issues such as addiction, gambling risks and advertising/sponsorship and branding. These issues are very complex in the digital age where anyone with a smartphone can gamble on a wide variety of sporting and amusement games.
The Gambling Commission has proposed 18 significant changes that will be implemented (summer 2023 target) and will be subject to consultation from the industry. The main goal is to protect consumers from gambling and its adverse effects. For example, if an account incurs losses of £120 a month, it will be red-flagged and subject to affordability checks. The next major change will be to stake limits for online slot games from £2 to £15. Plus, we may see the end of ‘Speed Baccarat’, ‘Speed Blackjack’ and other live dealer games that deliver fast results.
Another key revision will be a mandatory levy paid for by the gambling firms to fund research, education and support for gambling addiction. An interesting advertising/sponsorship change will be in the Premier League. It will prohibit football stars from appearing in gambling ads and the league will remove company logos from the front of the players’ shirts by the 2026/27 season.
Disclaimer: This is not a report for trading. Our target audience is iGaming players who are interested in the financial state of operators that run their online casinos. You can find an issue of this report bi-weekly starting with last week’s iGaming Stocks Update Issue 8 2023.
Evolution (EVO) – NASDAQ Stockholm – SEK
Since the last report, EVO stock has dropped 5%. While the share price is still up an incredible 24% from the start of the year, it dropped off in the last few days. This could be based on panic selling by investors, as an Independent Director of the EVO sold over 25m USD of shares 3 days ago. Senior members of EVO haven’t bought Evolution stock in over 3 months, signalling to investors a possible lack of confidence in the stock. The stock opened down today and is currently trading at 1,302.60 SEK. With all that being said, the latest Evolution Q1 2023 financial results should give investors confidence.
- Current: 1,302.60 SEK
- 20 April: 1,376.00 SEK
- 14-Day Gain/Loss: -73.40 SEK (-5.33%)
- 2023 Market Open: 1,050.50 SEK
- Yearly Gain/Loss: +252.10 SEK
- Yearly (%) Movement: +23.97%
Entain PLC (ENT) – London Stock Exchange (LSE) – GBX (British Pence)
Entain has welcomed the new UK gaming reforms and has led the industry since 2019 in the Advanced Responsibility and Care program. The company stated that it will increase its share of donations in the UK to 1% of its annual gross gaming revenues. Since releasing this statement, the stock has climbed 3% and is currently trading at 1,468 GBX. For more info, you can find the Entain Q1 financial results here.
- Current: 1,468 GBX
- 20 April: 1,252.53 GBX
- 14-Day Gain/Loss: +215.47 GBX (+17.20%)
- 2023 Market Open: 1,350.50 GBX
- Yearly Gain/Loss: +117.50 GBX
- Yearly (%) Movement: +8.67%
Playtech (PTEC.L) – London Stock Exchange (LSE) – GBX (British Pence)
PTEC has been in the doldrums since our last report. The stock has risen a meagre 1.6% in the last couple of weeks. It opened higher today and is currently trading at 584.50 GBX and not far off a yearly high of 595.5 GBX. The company will hold their Annual General Meeting on May 24th and will release preliminary financial data for the coming year. If the data is positive, the stock could achieve new yearly highs and be a target for another possible buyout.
- Current: 584.50 GBX
- 20 April: 520.00 GBX
- 14-Day Gain/Loss: +64.50 GBX (+12.5%)
- 2023 Market Open: 536.00 GBX
- Yearly Gain/Loss: +48.50 GBX
- Yearly (%) Movement: +9.05%
Light & Wonder (LNW) – NASDAQ NYC – USD
Light & Wonder is set to release its Q1 2023 financial results on May 9th and the stock has remained flat since the last report. The stock opened up today and the share price is currently trading at 61.37 USD. In the last 5 days, LNW has gone up almost 4% but this was negated by a 6% drop in the last 2 weeks. The stock is currently seeing resistance at 62.96 USD and support at 60.05 USD.
- Current: 61.37 USD
- 20 April: 60.36 USD
- 14-Day Gain/Loss: +1.01 USD (+1.67%)
- 2023 Market Open: 58.12 USD
- Yearly Gain/Loss: +3.25 USD
- Yearly (%) Movement: +5.60%
888 Holdings (888.L) – London Stock Exchange (LSE) – GBX (British Pence)
888 Holdings continues to hit new highs on relief of no ‘negative’ news. The beleaguered company had been hit by a series of scandals and the biggest-ever fine by the UK Gaming Commission earlier in the year. The company appears to have bottomed out and this has increased investor interest. One recent key investor, the interim chairman of 888 bought 100k of stock last month, at 68 GBX revealing that he believes that the worst is behind them. Last month the gambling operator updated investors, stating that they expect the EPS to be more than 35p and revenue of at least £2b. The stock opened up today and is currently trading at 83.70 GBX and is at a year-to-date high.
- Current: 83.70 GBX
- 20 April: 52.94 GBX
- 14-Day Gain/Loss: +30.76 GBX
- 2023 Market Open: 88.05 GBX
- Yearly Gain/Loss: -4.35 GBX
- Yearly (%) Movement: -4.94%
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