Public Betting

LAST UPDATED July 28, 2020 | 06:36 am— PUBLISHED July 27, 2020 | 10:10 pm

Photo Credit: Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Online casino and sports betting company Rush Street Interactive is looking to go public through a merger with blank check company dMY Technology Group. The deal will value Rush Street at approximately $1.8 billion. Rush Street’s main focus on online casinos has helped boost its revenue during the pandemic even with sports betting largely sidelined.

Having companies go public through special-purpose acquisition companies is a growing trend to avoid market fluctuations, especially in sports-related sectors. In the sports betting realm, DraftKings used the strategy to go public earlier this year. Allied Esports took the blank check route last year and Topgolf is reportedly eyeing the option.

Public U.S. Sports Betting Companies:

— Boyd Gaming: (BYD – down 28.0% year-to-date) Casino and resorts; has a stake in FanDuel.

— El Dorado: (CZR – down 35.7% YTD) Casino and resorts; recently closed a deal to acquire Caesars, which is an NFL, ESPN, and Turner partner. Also has a 20% stake in British sports betting company William Hill.

— DraftKings: (DKNG – up 221.3% since going public in April) Daily fantasy and sports betting; the stock dropped 6.48% Monday following the MLB postponements.

— MGM: (MGM – down 52.5% YTD) Casino and resorts; joint sports betting venture Roar Digital with British company GVC Holdings.

— Penn National: (PENN – up 27.7% YTD) Casino and resorts; bought a stake in Barstool Sports earlier this year and is developing a mobile betting platform. Penn also has a deal with theScore.