Wall Street Bets is a roundup of recent notes from analysts covering the gambling industry.
Jefferies David Katz wrote about Maryland acquiring IP to Preakness Stakes on June 21:
“The State of Maryland has elected to exercise its right under Maryland Code Ann. Bus. Reg. §11-520(d) to acquire the intellectual property (associated with the Preakness Stakes and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes from 1/ST by matching Churchill Downs’ agreed purchase price of $85 million. Our impression is that the opportunity to engage in the redevelopment is intact and therefore a first look at owning Pimlico and the event in the future also remains. Furthermore, we believe more meaningful positive catalysts for the shares also remain.”
Truist Securities’ Barry Jonas also weighed in on Maryland’s acquisition of the Preakness Stakes on June 21:
“Upon reflection, we’re not sure this announcement changes much from that narrative. We’re still unsure if the state of Maryland (with its sizable budget deficit) and a local non-profit are the best owners/operators of the race to drive meaningful profitability. The answer to this question will ultimately define next steps regardless of who owns the IP rights and we think Churchill Downs could be a natural alternative, given the overwhelming success of the Kentucky Derby. In the interim, Churchill Downs is hyper-focused on creating shareholder value, which we believe includes evaluating potential M&A.”
Dan Politzer of J.P. Morgan 6 looked at gaming revenue New Jersey on June 16:
“New Jersey May Casino GGR of $265.6 million was +0.1% year-over-year, reflecting table (games) GGR -6.1% year-over-year and slot GGR +2.4% year-over-year. 2QTD Casino GGR is tracking +5.2% year-over-year. For sports betting, May GGR of $85 million was -16.9% year-over-year (OSB GGR of $84 million was -15% year-over-year and retail GGR of $1.5 million was -67% year-over-year), while handle of $919 million was -10% year-over-year, implying a 9.6% hold rate (-70 basis points year-over-year). May igaming revenue of $276 million was +11.9% year-over-year. May 2026 and 2025 each had 10 weekend days.”
