William Hill Acquisition Timing Just Right for Sports Betting ETF

With professional baseball in the throes of its shortened regular season, professional basketball in playoff mode, and professional football around the corner, it gives sports bettors plenty to be happy about. After all, Covid-19 put the dampers on a lot of professional sports, but as activity picks up, the timing couldn’t be more auspicious for the Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF (BETZ).

Adding to the fervor is sports book operator William Hill making a successful bid for CG Technology, which increases its footprint in the hub of gambling—Las Vegas, Nevada. The company already operates 124 race and sports book locations throughout Nevada, including the state’s leading mobile sports betting app.

Per the company’s press release, “William Hill branded sports books are open at The Venetian Resort, The Palazzo Resort, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, and Silverton in Las Vegas. New offerings include self-service kiosks, an expanded wagering menu featuring LIVE InPlay Wagering on the app and over the counter, and compelling rewards club offers.”

“William Hill has long been the leading sports book operator in Nevada. This acquisition further expands our footprint, giving us a bigger presence on the Las Vegas Strip at several world-renowned resorts,” said Joe Asher, CEO of William Hill US. “It’s a very exciting time for our company as we continue to grow and introduce our offerings to new customers.”

This works out well for the BETZ ETF since it’s the fund’s second largest holding. All in all, the ETF is designed to offer retail and institutional investors exposure to sports betting and iGaming industries by providing investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming Index (“BETZ Index”).

The Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming Index is the first index globally designed to track the performance of the sports betting and iGaming industry. The Index consists of a tiered weight portfolio of globally-listed companies who are actively involved in the sports betting & iGaming industry. This classification includes (i) companies that operate in-person and/or online sports books (ii) companies that operate online/internet gambling platforms and (iii) companies that provide infrastructure or technology to such companies in (i) or (ii).

BETZ Chart

BETZ data by YCharts

Top 10 Holdings of BETZ and their allocation (as of September 7):

10.68%: Pointsbet Holdings Ltd

6.98%: William Hill Plc

4.85%: Kindred Group Plc

4.80%: Penn National Gaming Inc

4.69%: Draftkings Inc

4.54%: Flutter Entertainment Plc

4.34%: Gvc Holdings Plc

3.80%: Churchill Downs Inc

3.65%: Scientific Games Corp

3.60%: Playtech Plc

 

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