The share price of Paddy Power Betfair PLC (LON:PPB) has come up fast on the rails and is now up with events, Numis says.
The broker has moved to 'hold' from 'add' after the shares rallied around one-fifth from their recent low.
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The company remains well-placed from a US perspective, where the sports betting scene is being liberalised, but the broker's key pick in the sector remains GVC Holdings PLC (LON:GVC).
As for the UK, bookies were hit for six last month when the betting industry's worst-case scenario unfolded following the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport's (DCMS) decision to cut the maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals (FOBT) to £2 from the current £100 in a bid to curb problem gambling.
“Following the DCMS's verdict on FOBTs published in May 2018, we have assumed the £2 maximum stake is introduced in 2020 and have updated our sector forecasts accordingly,” Numis said.
Shares in Paddy Power were up 1% at 8,360p.