Gaming stocks had a strong week, and the Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF, which invests in a basket of gaming companies, rose 3.7% while the S&P 500 Index rose by less than half a percent.
Grandstand and Genius Sports were among the major gainers last week, while Playtika and Corsair Gaming were among the major losers.
Major Gainers
Grandstand (NYSE: GRSD) +20%
With a 20% gain last week, Grandstand was by far the biggest gainer in our coverage of gaming stocks. Grandstand was previously known as Gambling.com, its flagship site. However, the company has since diversified, prompting it to change its name last month.
Last week’s gains could be attributed to the market’s reaction to Grandstand’s Q2 earnings. Despite reporting weaker Q2 revenue, which fell 5% year-over-year (YoY) to $37.8 million, Grandstand reiterated its full-year guidance of $165–$170 million in revenue and $45–$50 million in adjusted EBITDA. The guidance implies a sequential improvement in earnings in the second half of the year, which is quite reassuring.
Moreover, last week, the company announced the launch of Rollcard, a high-limit debit card tailored for sports betting, casino, and prediction markets. Paired with 12% growth in its enterprise sports data services (led by its B2B solution OpticOdds), the market rewarded Grandstand’s rapid diversification beyond traditional organic-search affiliate marketing.
Genius Sports (NYSE: GENI) +10.41%
Genius Sports posted double-digit gains last week, which helped it narrow its year-to-date (YTD) losses to about 24%. The stock was among the biggest gainers in the preceding week as markets gave a thumbs up to its Q2 earnings. Its Q2 adjusted EBITDA came in at $53 million versus its guidance of $45 million.
After the strong Q2 performance, Genius raised its annual guidance and now expects to post revenues between $1.005 billion and $1.025 billion, up from the previous range of $990 million to $1.010 billion. It also increased its annual adjusted EBITDA guidance to $285 million – $ 295 million, up from the $270 million – $280 million it previously reported.
Moreover, earlier this month, Genius announced partnerships with prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket. While there wasn’t any major company-specific announcement last week, GENI stock continued its uptrend, helping it double over the last month. However, despite the recent rally, GENI is down 24% for the year.
Light & Wonder (ASX: LNW) +9.23%
Light & Wonder rose over 9% last week. The stock has risen 21% over the last month, helping it narrow its YTD losses to under 14%. The recent uptrend has been driven by the company’s Q2 earnings, which were released earlier this month.
LNW’s consolidated revenue rose 2% YoY to $828 million, while adjusted EBITDA expanded 9% to $383 million. Its adjusted free cash flow surged 50% YoY to $156 million.
Moreover, LNW’s recurring revenue grew to $580 million, representing 71% of total revenue in the quarter. Investors rewarded this shift toward a more predictable, high-quality earnings base over cyclical hardware sales.
Biggest Losers
Playtika (NYSE: PLTK) -14.63%
With a loss of nearly 15%, Playtika was the biggest loser in our coverage of gaming stocks. It held the dubious distinction in the preceding week, also, when the stock lost over a quarter of its market capitalization after its Q2 earnings spooked investors.
While Playtika’s Q2 numbers were largely in line with estimates, its guidance spooked investors. The management said that full-year 2026 revenue and adjusted EBITDA are now expected to track toward the lower end of their previously guided ranges. The company blamed softening consumer sentiments driven by inflationary pressures on discretionary spending.
Playtika also announced plans to cut second-half marketing spend for SuperPlay titles (such as Disney Solitaire) by up to 70% relative to the first half of the year. Markets are concerned over whether recent revenue growth, especially from newer titles, can be sustained once marketing support is drastically pulled back.
Analysts have also lowered PLTK’s target price following its Q2 earnings, and last week, Morgan Stanley cut it from $5 to $4.25. Previously, Goldman Sachs had also cut its target price for PLTK.
Corsair Gaming (NYSE: CRSR) -9.48%
Corsair Gaming also saw a near double-digit decline last week, which looks like a profit-taking exercise following the monstrous 35% rally in the preceding week after the company’s Q2 profitability blew past estimates. There is also the valuation aspect, as the stock trades at elevated multiples. It has also run ahead of its mean target of $12.14, more than doubling this year amid optimism over its artificial intelligence (AI) pivot.
Bragg Gaming Group (NYSE: BRAG) -8.93%
Bragg Gaming stock fell nearly 9% last week and extended its YTD loss to 27%. Last week’s decline could be attributed to its tepid Q2 financial performance. Bragg reported Q2 revenue of €22.9 million ($26.1 million), representing a 12% YoY decline. The drop was driven by customer churn from legacy platform contracts in the Netherlands (-14% YoY) and structural shifts in Brazil.
Net loss for the quarter widened by 61% to €2.9 million ($3.3 million), up from €1.8 million in Q2 2025, primarily due to exceptional restructuring costs and depreciation.
Following the completion of its $9 million acquisition of Drayton International in July, management withdrew its full-year 2026 financial guidance for revenue and adjusted EBITDA, citing an inability to reliably forecast the combined entity’s near-term performance. The management, however, said, “on a standalone basis excluding Drayton, the Company was tracking below the low end of the revenue range and at the low end of the Adjusted EBITDA range.”
Major Gaming Industry Developments
There has been a regulatory turf war between the states and the CFTC over the regulation of the fast-growing prediction market industry. In the most recent case, the City of Baltimore filed a lawsuit against Kalshi and Polymarket over alleged illegal gambling operations.
“These companies are running sportsbooks without licenses and betting that a new label will put them above the law,” said Mayor Brandon Scott said in a statement. He added, “It won’t. Baltimore will not let multibillion-dollar companies put profits over people and harm our communities through illegal gambling.”
On a related note, state regulators ordered Kalshi to shut down select prediction markets in Washington state. “Kalshi has gotten rich promoting wagers on sports, elections, natural disasters, events related to the Iran War, and more,” said Attorney General Nick Brown in a statement. Brown added, “As this case moves forward, we will continue to enforce Washington law and hold Kalshi accountable for misleading consumers.”
The prediction market industry received another jolt after Connecticut Judge Vernon D. Oliver likened parlays to casino gaming while rejecting Kalshi’s arguments that its sports markets should not be considered sports gambling in the state.
In Europe, the UK government signaled plans to give local councils expanded powers to block new high-street betting shops, sparking pushback from operators over potential legislative fallout.
The gaming industry continues to see M&A activity, and last week, billionaire investor Kenneth Dart (via Candle Lake) made a takeover bid for the Swedish live-casino giant Evolution. The firm disclosed a 30% stake in Evolution last month and has now made an open offer to fulfill the regulatory obligation.
Talking of earnings, Entain reported a 5% increase in H1 Net Gaming Revenue (NGR), though earnings were squeezed due to recent UK tax increases and regulatory shifts. The Rank Group, meanwhile, posted strong full-year results with underlying profits reaching £78.6 million, noting that its digital performance helped absorb a significant 40% duty burden in the UK.
Catena Media’s Q2 revenues fell 1% while adjusted EBITDA tumbled 11%. The company has made another round of layoffs as it pivots away from an SEO-based affiliate business.
Bally’s Corporation reported revenues of $792.23 million in Q2, up 20.5% YoY and beating Wall Street consensus estimates of $789.89 million. The company, however, lost $2.41 per share, more than twice Street estimates. Despite the bottom-line earnings miss, BALY stock rose around 3.7% following the release as investors reacted positively to the modest top-line revenue beat and narrowed YoY net losses.
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Gaming stocks had a strong week, and the Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF, which invests in a basket of gaming companies, rose 3.7% while the S&P 500 Index rose by less than half a percent. Grandstand and Genius Sports were among the major gainers last week, while Playtika and Corsair Gaming were among the
The post Gaming Stocks: Grandstand Soars After Earnings While Playtika Continues to Plummet appeared first on CasinoBeats.