Wall Street Bets is a roundup of recent notes from analysts covering the gambling industry.
Las Vegas Strip
Truist Securities’ Barry Jonas weighed in on the Las Vegas Strip on April 13:
“Our latest Las Vegas Strip survey has not changed meaningfully from our prior survey with Q1 finishing slightly up, though we remain cautious on Q1 EBITDAR trends. Looking to Q2, April remains soft, but May and now our early read into June look solid. We also take a look at rates by segment which continue to show a resilient high end with signs of inflection at the low end in May as operators start ramping promotional efforts. We continue to monitor Q2 trends closely as they benefit from a strong group/event calendar and easier comparisons, but have to contend with volatile macro and a K-shaped recovery.”
Online sports betting
Dan Politzer of J. P. Morgan looked at online sports betting April 9:
“Based on online sports betting data released by the New York Gaming Commission for the week ending April 5, GGR was +30% year-over-year and handle was -9% year-over-year, implying an 11.3% hold rate (+340 basis points year-over year vs. the prior-year comparable period). We note that the weekly period includes results from the NCAA Basketball Tournament Final Four.
- DraftKings: For the week ending 4/5/26, handle was -8% year-over-year, while GGR was +15% year-over-year, implying an 11.0% hold rate (+220 basis points year-over-year).
- FanDuel: For the week ending 4/5/26, handle was -18% year-over-year while GGR was +56% year-over-year, implying a 13.9% hold rate (+660 basis points year-over-year).
- BetMGM: For the week ending 4/5/26, handle was -7% year-over-year, while GGR was -31% year-over-year, implying a 6.6% hold rate (-230 basis points year-over-year).
- Caesars: For the week ending 4/5/26, handle was -14% year-over-year while GGR was +28% year-over-year, implying a 10.5% hold rate (+340 basis points year-over-year.
- Fanatics: For the week ending 4/5/26, handle was +34% y/y, while GGR was +36%, implying an 8.2% hold rate (+10bps y/y).”
Caesars Entertainment
David Katz of Jefferies examined on April 13 whether Caesars is ripe for bidding:
“What’s next for Caesars? Our inbound call volume included focus on whether the press reports (Wall Street Journal, March 12) indicating bids for Caesars are likely to occur and the implications for other companies in our coverage (Caesars has not commented). Investors continue to ask about capital structure, regulatory dynamics, positioning for VICI and impact on the rest of the sector. We have no specific view on the likelihood of a deal, but believe the implications for value on the sector, for operating company, property company and digital assets, and any deal would likely embody complexity. In short, we view the outcome as potentially among the most important issues for the sector near term.
