Penn National Gaming To Launch Sports Betting In Indiana

In an effort to strengthen its foothold in the gaming industry, Penn National Gaming, Inc. (NASDAQ:PENN) is banking on sports betting at various locations. The company is likely to start sports betting at Ameristar Casino East Chicago, Indiana, on Sep 1, 2019. At the casino, it will offer a state-of-the-art sports betting experience.

Following the legalization of sports betting outside Nevada, Indiana will be the 12th state to allow sports wagering. Notably, in May 2018, the Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) that banned sports betting outside Nevada. The court supported the legality of a 2014 New Jersey law, which allows sports betting at casinos as well as racetracks in the state.

Penn National has also started sports betting at Ameristar Casino Council Bluffs. We believe the company that operates in jurisdictions like California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginia and other states is likely to gain the most from this ruling.

Partnership to Boost Sports Betting

Recently, Penn National announced historic strategic partnerships with DraftKings, PointsBet, theScore and The Stars Group. Backed by these partnerships, the company is anticipated to maximize sports betting and iGaming across 19 states. DraftKings will cover Florida, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia for 10 years.

Price Performance

Year to date, Penn National has declined 3% against the industry’s 3.6% growth. However, we believe that this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock will take a U-turn as sports betting is likely to be a major growth driver. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Following the aforementioned news, shares of the company gained 4.6% yesterday.

Stocks such as Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) , Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) and MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) , which belong to the same industry, have gained 12.2%, 5.1% and 18.6%, respectively, in a year’s time.

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