- Major Atlantic City companies MGM, Boyd and Caesars all see surges in their share price following Governor Christie’s conditional veto Thursday.
- Online businesses, from Zynga and Amaya to bwin.party and 888, also see significant gains.
The largest gambling brands in New Jersey, including MGM, Boyd and Caesars, enjoyed a rare day in the sun Thursday as their shares leaped upwards on the news that online gambling should soon be legal in the Garden State.
Governor Christie’s conditional veto requests only minor alterations to the online gambling bill, and is expected to result in approved legislation that should see online poker legalized as early as September.
If the Nevada experience is a good guide, it could still be eighteen months before operators start signing up players, but the markets appear to have decided that this is excellent news for the whole gaming industry with double-digit bumps for many gambling firms.
And it was not just the US brick-and-mortar groups that saw upticks in share prices. Online companies Zynga, bwin.Party, 888 and Amaya all saw double digit gains up to 20%. UK listed companies William Hill, Betfair and Playtech moved up around 5% each.
Online poker market leader PokerStars, privately owned, welcomed yesterday’s developments in New Jersey. The group has entered into an agreement to purchase an Atlantic City casino, though the deal is pending license approval.
MGM and Caesars are in dire need of some positive news, their current financial position being extremely weak after the financial crisis reduced their revenues alarmingly.
