While the future may be uncertain, there is money to be made in spotting trends and identifying patterns in the stock markets. Many traders take advantage of their own knowledge of the economy to make trades based on the way the stocks are moving and the impact that any external factors have on their value.

The entertainment industry has always been an attractive prospect for investors because of the potential for huge profits. Depending on the project, the risk levels involved can be off-putting, but established brands can offer more reliable returns, including businesses such as casinos.

There are a number of similarities between playing casino games and investing in the stock market. Both involve managing risk and understanding the odds associated with the options available.

Gambling has always been a popular pastime – some of the earliest settlements show signs that our ancestors played games with counters and tokens that may be the precursors to some of the games we still play today. Playing for money has always been popular, but it has fallen in and out of favour socially over the years, usually as a result of religious influence on government policy and legislation.

While sports wagering has usually been allowed, particularly on sports that have historically been associated with the upper classes such as horse racing, games of chance have been at the mercy of social mores until relatively recently. Casinos have gone from being the preferred haunts of the very rich to more accessible settings where people can enjoy everything from a couple of drinks to a destination holiday.

The role of internet gaming

Many countries found that their legislation couldn’t keep up with the technology being developed, so players could access them even from countries where casino games were banned. This opened up new markets and many well-established land-based casinos and bookmakers launched their own online sites, capitalising on their reputations to win customers in an environment where many were concerned about online safety. 

The ongoing and overwhelming popularity of live casino gaming on sites such as Virgin Games has had a dramatic impact on the casino industry, especially in countries where land-based casinos have been banned or heavily regulated. Being able to access online casino sites based in other countries has allowed the casino industry to thrive, and those that predicted the trend have been richly rewarded as casino stocks have increased in value over recent years.

Experts valued the global gaming market at over $61 billion in 2021, predicting it will increase to $114 billion by 2028. This expected compound annual growth rate of more than 10% has partly been fuelled by the increasing availability of online casinos.

Another factor in the rapid growth of the market is the rising popularity of casino gaming in the Asia Pacific region. When the gaming regulations in China were relaxed to allow casinos in Macau, it became the largest gaming centre in the world, appealing to gamers from elsewhere in China and visitors from all over the world.

Some of the biggest names in the casino leisure industry opened casinos in the area, predicting that there would be a market for their particular brand of overwhelmingly opulent casinos in the world.

The role of technology in casino industry growth

The speedy growth of the industry has been amplified by the speed with which studios have incorporated new technology into their games. New releases include elements of augmented and virtual reality and artificial intelligence, and investors that want to be at the cutting edge of gaming technology can back individual projects, games studios, or larger conglomerates, depending on the investor’s preferences.

The technology surrounding security is also improving and casinos have always been quick to adopt any new technology that can help them to keep their players safe. Player confidence plays a big part in the success of both land-based and online casinos, and those that invest in their security should reap the rewards when it comes to customer loyalty and investor confidence.

Savvy investors have been keeping an eye on gaming trends to help them maximise their return on their investments by choosing stocks that are on their way up in value.

Which casino stocks are best?

While there are no guarantees when it comes to investing in the stock market, some of the biggest names in casinos are considered good value in terms of their return value. MGM Resorts International operates casinos and hotels alongside a number of other businesses including restaurants, retail, and nightclubs, as does Boyd Gaming Group and Red Rock Resort.

Investors that prefer to back larger companies can find plenty of casino owners and operators that have been around for long enough to establish their market. Those that want to be in on the ground floor of a smaller business may wish to take a slightly bigger risk for a higher potential reward.