The S&P 500 is betting on Penn National Gaming Inc. and Caesar’s Entertainment Inc. amid increasing legalization of sports betting in the U.S.
Penn and Caesar’s were announced as incoming members of the S&P 500 index Friday afternoon, along with semiconductor manufacturer NXP Semiconductors NV and Generac Holdings Inc., which sells equipment used to generate power. Flowserve Corp., SL Green Realty Corp., Xerox Holdings Corp. and Vontier Corp. will drop down to the S&P MidCap 400 to make room. The changes are scheduled to take place before the start of trading on March 22.
Penn has seen its stock rise nearly 750% in the past year amid further legalization of sports betting and its investment in popular sports website Barstool. Penn is using Barstool’s branding on its sports-gambling platform, which competes with Flutter Entertainment PLC, DraftKings, William Hil, Caesar’s and others as U.S. states legalize sports gambling. Michigan became the 15th state to allow online sports gambling earlier this year.
