Key insights
- Barclays' May gaming revenue tracker indicates a slowdown in New Jersey and Indiana, with flat retail gross gaming revenue in NJ and a 1% decline in IN. Online sports betting also showed weakness, with handle and revenue declining for major operators. This suggests potential headwinds for the gaming sector, impacting companies like MGM, CZR, PENN, DKNG, and FLUT, which could translate to a slightly bearish outlook for related equities.
Investing.com - Barclays released its state gaming revenue tracker for May 2026, showing retail gross gaming revenue flat in New Jersey and down 1% year-over-year in Indiana, while online sports betting handle and revenue declined across most major operators.
New Jersey reported May gross gaming revenue flat year-over-year compared to 12% growth in April and 3% growth in March. Indiana posted a 1% year-over-year decline in May gross gaming revenue, following 5% growth in April and a 6% decline in March. Retail gross gaming revenue for states reported so far rose 2% year-over-year, or 1% on a same-store basis.
In New Jersey, MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) reported flat May gross gaming revenue versus 14% growth in April, while Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR) posted a 5% decline versus 11% growth in April. In Indiana, Penn Entertainment (NASDAQ: PENN) reported 7% growth, Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD) rose 6%, and Churchill Downs (NASDAQ: CHDN) gained 3%, while Caesars fell 3%.
Digital sports betting handle and gross gaming revenue tracked flat and down 4% respectively for May. BetMGM tracked down 5% in both handle and revenue, DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) fell 5% in handle and 15% in revenue, Flutter (NYSE: FLUT) declined 7% in handle and 11% in revenue, Caesars dropped 7% in handle and 12% in revenue, and Penn fell 25% in handle and 34% in revenue.
Hold rates for May showed Flutter at 13.2%, Penn at 9.9%, DraftKings at 9.8%, BetMGM at 9.6%, and Caesars at 7.8%.