**Rank Group**
*1 May closing: 84p*
*30 May closing: 126p*
*Peak May closing: 127p*
May proved to be a stellar month for UK-based casino and bingo operator Rank, with the company’s stock climbing 51% in value over the course of the reporting period.
Buoyed by news that the UK government will allow more gaming machines in bricks-and-mortar casino locations in July as part of its land-based reforms, Rank shares remained on a largely upward trajectory for the entirety of May.
Having reached the 100p mark on 11 May, the Mecca Bingo parent company did not look back from that point on, going from strength to strength to reach its monthly peak of 127p on two separate occasions, before closing out the month at 126p, marking the group’s most impressive performance within the last 12 months.
**Playtech**
*1 May closing: 774p*
*30 May closing: 318p*
*Peak May closing: 806p*
Playtech’s month was in stark contrast to that of Rank Group. A strong start – its 6 May closing of 806p the highest the firm’s stock has been valued so far this year – was quickly followed by a drastic decline in the days that followed.
It was a hectic month for the company, which is currently in the midst of a strategic shift to focus solely on its B2B operations, with the reporting period including a trading update and an asset sale, with its HAPPYBET brand offloaded to German operator pferdewetten.de.
However, the steep decline in its stock began on 8 May, with its share price plummeting as a result of a £1.5bn payout following the sale of its Italian-based Snaitech brand to Flutter last year.
With Snaitech now under Flutter ownership and Playtech exclusively committed to its B2B efforts, the firm’s trading update, released on 21 May, failed to inspire any sort of significant uptick in its stock value, despite management praising “very strong revenue growth” across US operations in what was described as a “solid” start to 2025.
Confirmation of the HAPPYBET sale for an undisclosed fee came one week later, but shares remained flat, ending the month valued at 318p – a 58% decline from the month’s open.
**PENN Entertainment**
*1 May closing: $15.54*
*30 May closing: $14.83*
*Peak May closing: $16.18*
PENN’s May was dominated by the ongoing bitter battle with activist investor HG Vora, which released a scathing assessment of the operator’s leadership and strategy midway through the month.
Compensation received by CEO Jay Snowden was dubbed “tone deaf” by one of PENN’s largest shareholders, which boasts a 4.8% chunk of the company’s outstanding shares, while its sports betting and M&A strategy was also called into question just days after HG Vora filed a lawsuit against PENN and its board of directors.
The case centres around PENN’s decision to opt against electing the investor’s third prospective candidate to the board, who was denied the chance to stand for election.
The ESPN Bet parent company responded by informing its shareholders that HG Vora’s demands were “value-destructive” and in violation of state gaming regulations.
Throughout this, PENN’s share price fluctuated marginally but evaded a dramatic decline, that is until HG Vora’s 116-page presentation claimed the current board had failed shareholders, and that improvement was needed to inspire an uptick in stock value.
In the week of the presentation’s release, PENN’s share price slumped below the $15-mark for the first time last month, reaching May’s lowest total of $14.20 on 20 May.
An uptick swiftly followed, with a climb to $15.38 a week later, but another decline came hot on its heels to see PENN close out the month with its share price sitting at $14.83, representing a 2.5% fall over the course of what was a turbulent reporting period.