World Largest Publicly Listed Gambling Company

The mandated disclosure regime for publicly traded companies is similar in the U.S. And Europe, and significant disclosure is required. By contrast, the requirements for U.S. Companies that are not public companies required to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the 'SEC') are significantly less than those for private companies in Europe (including private European. JPMorgan Chase is the largest U.S. 3, falling one spot from last year. In other bright spots, the largest IPO of 2019, Saudi Aramco, debuted at No. 5 on the list, while Zoom. In 1947, Flamingo Hotel & Casino became the first casino on the Las Vegas Strip and by 1973, Harrah’s was the first casino company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, three other leaders in the gaming industry – Benny Binion, Jay Sarno and Donald Carano – were busy making their own history. The revenues are based on consumer spending in each country and exclude hardware sales, tax, business-to-business services, and online gambling and betting revenues. If you would like to see the top 50 country list plus projections towards 2023, you can subscribe to our Global Games Market Report.

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The casino gaming industry is constantly in a state of influx because of untapped markets and rapidly changing technology.

Potential goldmines like Japan and Brazil offer opportunities for major land based casinos to continue growing. And virtual reality gives the online gaming world a new dimension.

You can be sure that publicly traded casino companies will try to take advantage of upcoming technology and/or new markets.

That said, let’s look at 7 public casino companies that are eyeing major growth over the coming years.

1. Las Vegas Sands Corp.

Las Vegas Sands is the world’s largest casino company with over $14 billion in annual revenue.

This makes it seem like they don’t have much room for growth. And Sands has recently struggled because their Macau properties were stuck in the middle of a casino recession.

But the Sands Corp. is poised to take off in the future for two major reasons:

1. Macau’s gaming market is on the rebound.

2. Sands never stops looking for new areas to expand to.

Beginning with the first factor, Macau started their downturn in 2014. This is the point when the Chinese government began cracking down on money laundering and government corruption.

Many Asian high rollers were targeted during the money laundering investigations. Eventually, Chinese high rollers stopped pouring into Macau over fears that they’d be hassled.

The good news, though, is that the anti corruption campaign is slowing and Macau casinos are rebounding. This works for Las Vegas Sands, which owns the following casinos in the special administrative Chinese area:

• Sands Cotai Central
• Sands Macao
• The Parisian
• The Venetian Macao

The Sands Corp easily survived the Macau recession because they’re so focused on diversification. They have properties in Las Vegas, Macau, Singapore, and the American East Coast.

And they’re looking to expand their reach to both Japan and Brazil in the future.

Japan is the most realistic venture because the country legalized casino gambling at the end of last year. Las Vegas Sands has pledged to build a resort worth up to $10 billion.

Japan has 127 million residents and the world’s third largest economy. This is why many see the Land of the Rising Sun as the world’s next big casino market.

Sands is also looking into Brazil as a potential casino destination.

The only problem is that Brazil is years away from legalizing casinos. But this is still a country worth lobbying in because they have 207.7 million people.

2. MGM Resorts International

MGM is the biggest rival to Las Vegas Sands because they earn $9.5 billion per year and have properties in both America and Asia.

MGM is especially dominant on the Las Vegas Strip, where they own everything from casinos to arenas. Here’s a look at their Vegas Strip properties:

• Adventuredome
• Aria Resort & Casino
• Bellagio
• Circus Circus Las Vegas
• CityCenter (jointly owned with Dubai World)
• Delano Las Vegas
• Excalibur
• Luxor
• Mandarin Oriental
• Mandalay Bay
• Mandalay Bay Convention Center
• Mandalay Bay Events Center
• MGM Grand Las Vegas
• MGM Grand Garden Arena
• Monte Carlo
• New York New York
• Skylofts at MGM Grand
• Slots A Fun Casino
• The Mansion at MGM Grand
• The Signature at MGM Grand (jointly owned with Turnberry Associates)
• The Mirage
• T Mobile Arena (jointly owned with AEG)
• Vdara
• Veer Towers

Casino gaming isn’t booming on the Vegas Strip, but entertainment and other ventures are. This is why MGM is poised for success with venues like their new T Mobile Arena, which hosts concerts and conventions.

The company has done well at expanding across the US. They own casinos in Atlantic City (Borgata), Biloxi (Beau Rivage), Detroit (MGM Grand), Maryland (MGM National Harbor), and Massachusetts (MGM Springfield).

Where MGM looks to really gain the most growth is their Macau properties. They own Grand Macau and will soon open Casino Cotai.

As covered before, the Macau casino market is on the upswing. And this means that MGM could earn some major profits in the coming years.

MGM is also under consideration for a Japanese casino license, which would be very lucrative.

3. Amaya Inc.

The online gaming company Amaya made waves in 2014 when they purchased PokerStars for $4.9 billion.

The Canadian business didn’t immediately capitalize on their investment because online poker’s popularity has been steadily decreasing over the years.

It also didn’t help that former CEO David Baazov stepped down after he was indicted on insider trading allegations.

Amaya weathered the storm, though, and have been diversifying their assets over the past few years.

The company is focused on building their casino and sportsbook products while keeping internet poker steady. The plan is working too because their casino and sportsbook now account for over 25% of their revenue.

The entire reason why Amaya purchased PokerStars for such an outrageous price is that they saw value in the customer base. The company’s number of registered users has grown to over 108 million.

It appears that Amaya’s strategy of offering more than just poker is paying off. And they’re also in the midst of changing their image too.

The company will soon change its name to the Stars Group and move their headquarters from Montreal to Toronto. This should help in distancing them from Baazov’s insider trading scandal.

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4. Wynn Resorts

Wynn Resorts has done a fine job of creating a luxury casino resort brand that spans from Las Vegas to Macau.

But Wynn has also struggled too because of their Macau properties. They own the Wynn Macau Resort, Wynn Palace, and Encore at Wynn Palace – none of which were immune to the Macau recession.

But like the Sands Corp. and MGM, Wynn should rebound nicely along with the Asian gaming destination’s economy.

Another move that will help the company experience more growth is their upcoming property in Massachusetts. Wynn is currently building Wynn Boston Harbor just outside downtown Boston.

The $2.4 billion venue will feature 629 hotel rooms, restaurants, retail outlets, convention space, and a spa.

Wynn hasn’t forgotten about their Las Vegas roots either.

CEO Steve Wynn announced that he’s overhauling the Wynn Las Vegas by 2020. The renovations will include more nongambling activities along with a clear water lagoon.

5. Net Entertainment (a.k.a. NetEnt)

Net Entertainment has been running internet casinos and supplying online software since the mid-1990s.

This makes them one of the oldest companies in online gaming. And they don’t show any signs of slowing down in the near future either.

NetEnt has produced a number of top online slots hits over the years. Here are some of their most popular games:

• Aliens
• Arabian Nights
• Blood Suckers
• Blood Suckers II
• Dead or Alive
• Drive: Multiplier Mayhem
• Gonzo’s Quest
• Guns N’ Roses
• Hall of Gods
• Jack Hammer
• Jack Hammer 2
• Mega Fortune
• Mega Joker
• Starburst
• Wild Wild West: The Great Train Heist

Net Entertainment has also done a great job of entering the live dealer gaming space. They now feature different variations of live blackjack and roulette games.

They’re also quite good at adapting to industry trends.

This is why we see Net Entertainment continuing to lead the internet gaming world for years to come.

6. Genting Group

No casino company is more international than the Genting Group.

The Malaysian business has properties in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Caribbean, the UK, and the US. Here are some of their notable establishments:

• Resorts World Manilla
• Resorts World New York
• Resorts World Sentosa (Singapore)
• Crockford’s Club (London)
• The Colony Club (London)
• Genting Chinatown Casino (London)

This company has also planned projects in South Korea, Las Vegas, and Miami, Florida.

Based on their experience in navigating international casino waters and continued growth, we expect the Genting Group to continue spreading their brand.

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7. Boyd Gaming

Boyd Gaming is different from the other companies on this list because they have a narrower focus. Specifically, Boyd Gaming builds regional casinos in the United States.

They currently feature 22 casinos throughout eight states, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, and New Jersey.

The company did have one major hiccup in 2006 when they were building a Las Vegas Strip casino. But they were forced to abandon the project and sell the property for $350 million.

In hindsight, this was a good turn of events because Boyd avoided opening a Vegas casino during the American recession (2008 10). Since then, they’ve continued to thrive by serving different regions in the US.

Boyd Gaming also has an internet gaming partnership with California’s Pala Interactive and GVC Holdings (under former bwin.party brand). This puts the business in a good position to take advantage of the US online gaming market when it finally expands.

Conclusion

The casino gaming world is far from reaching its peak. This is why publicly traded companies continue to invest in new properties and lobby governments to legalize gambling.

The question remains which of these companies gain the most from budding casino markets and new technology.

Las Vegas Sands has proven successful at winning over government officials and earning casino licenses. This includes when they won the right to build the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore over MGM.

Both companies will square off in Japan again with another casino license on the line.

Another thing to watch in the publicly traded gaming world is the development of Amaya.

I covered how the internet gaming giant has been diversifying to casino gaming and sports betting. Will they eventually become a giant in the online casino world?

It’ll also be interesting to see how Genting World’s new projects come along because they’re set for expansion in Miami, Vegas, and South Korea. Perhaps they can grow to the level of MGM and Sands Corp if these projects go well.

I’m also interested in any up and coming businesses that could break into the upper echelon. That being said, it’ll be fun to watch these developments in the coming years.

As a rare Saturday post, here is a reference list of 77 of the largest listed casino, gambling, and gaming stocks on major exchanges as of January 2017.

Gambling and casinos are a classic “sin sector” of “vice stocks”, where “vice investing” is considered the opposite of “ethical investing”. In an earlier post on my personal blog, I compare the performance of ethical vs vice stocks. I also had posts comparing the number of visitors to Macau to those visiting China or India, and how Macau once generated four times the revenue of Las Vegas with half the number of visitors.

In summary, this is not surprisingly an incredibly profitable sector that does not necessarily need economies of scale, but certainly depends on volume for high absolute profits. Return on assets for the sector are just over 10% with debt/equity ratios averaging over 1.0x, so not surprising to expect 10-20% returns from this sector if purchased at reasonable prices. Of course, the 33 largest casinos with market caps over $1 billion are probably less volatile than the 44 smaller ones, but this was one sector where the western superstitious number 77 had to be used because I just didn’t have 88 listed casino stocks in my database:

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