Oct 5, 2021
What do Michael Jordan and Mark Cuban have in common — other than both being billionaire owners of NBA teams?
They happen to be early investors of Sportradar Group, which provides integrated sports data and technology platforms to the sports betting industry.
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Last month, Sportradar announced that Jordan raised his stake in the company and would also serve as a special advisor to its Board of Directors.
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While the overall market's short-term prospects remain worrisome, the rapidly expanding sports betting space provides plenty of long-term growth opportunities.
Here are five companies well-positioned to capitalize on this trend — one of them could be worth purchasing with some of your spare change.
DraftKings (DKNG)
DraftKings is perhaps the most well-known name in the segment.
As a multi-channel provider of sports betting and gaming technologies, the company has a presence in 17 countries. In the U.S., it’s one of the largest fantasy sports and sports betting operators.
Since going public in April 2020, the stock has returned more than 150%.
DraftKings has expanded its presence through a series of acquisitions, helping boost its financials in the process. In Q2 of 2021, revenue spiked a staggering 320% year-over-year to $298 million. Notably, monthly unique players on the site increased 281% from the year-ago period.
Also worth noting is that Michael Jordan has been serving as a special advisor to DraftKings’ board since late 2020.
The shares have pulled back around 30% from their peak in March, so now might be a good time to put some digital nickels and dimes to work.
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Flutter Entertainment (PDYPY)
Flutter Entertainment may not be a familiar name, but it’s a major player in the space.
With a market of $35 billion, Flutter is actually larger than DraftKings.
Flutter was created by the merger of Paddy Power and Betfair in 2016. It later added The Stars Group — owner of the PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker brands — to its portfolio.
Flutter also owns and operates FanDuel, DraftKings’ main rival in the fast-growing daily fantasy sports business.
Today, Flutter has a diverse revenue stream. But online sports betting remains its biggest segment (55%), followed by online gaming (28%) and poker (10%).
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In the first half of 2021, Flutter’s revenue doubled year-over-year. On a pro forma basis, which excluded the impact of acquisitions, revenue still improved a solid 28%.
Casinos
How do you know sports betting is the next big thing in the U.S.?
Well, casinos, which are known to have a license to print money, are also getting into the business.
Back in August, Penn National Gaming announced that it would acquire Score Media and Gaming — a Toronto-based company that runs sports betting platform theScore — for $2 billion.
Then there’s MGM Resorts International. The Las Vegas-based casino giant offers a mobile sports betting app called BetMGM, which is now available in 14 states.
We also have Caesars Entertainment, who purchased British online bookmaker William Hill for $3.7 billion earlier this year. Last month, Caesars announced the sale of William Hill’s non-U.S. assets for around $3 billion, keeping its focus on the American market.
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To be sure, Caesars Entertainment shares currently trade at around $119 apiece. But there is an app that allows you to buy fractions of shares with as much money as you are willing to spend.
Better ways to become a millionaire (starting with $10)
There’s a simple reason why sports betting is growing so rapidly: People want to turn small amounts of money into big fortunes.
But don’t gamble your money away. There are far better ways to become a millionaire with small change.
For instance, you can buy slices of shares with however much money you want to put in. This could be as little as $1, $5, or $10.
You can also invest spare change while you shop, and some apps will even add a $10 bonus to your account as soon as you make your first investment.
You can even get into premium commercial real estate, which used to be off-limits to small investors. But thanks to new platforms, you can start building your own portfolio of premium real estate properties — from commercial developments in LA to residential buildings in NYC.
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Jing is an investment reporter for Moneywise. He is an avid advocate of investing for passive income. Despite the ups and downs he’s been through with the markets, Jing believes that you can generate a steadily increasing income stream by investing in high quality companies.
