Totalisator-style betting company Webis Holdings PLC (LON:WEB) has welcomed Monday’s decision by the Supreme Court to lift the ban on sports wagering in the US.
The company said that the decision would not have an immediate impact on revenue levels because individual states will have to get their legislation in place before the betting revolution can take place but longer-term, the decision should provide a positive boost for the group’s US operations.
READ: Webis and GAN soar after US Supreme Court opens door to the legalisation of sports betting in the US
Webis’s WatchandWager division has been the licensed operator of WatchandWager Cal Expo Racing in Sacramento, California since 2014 and is one of the few ‘advance deposit wagering’ companies to conduct both live pari-mutuel racing and on-line wagering services.
“Significantly, California's draft Sports Betting Bill specifies that only land-based racetracks and casinos will be eligible for licence applications. In the United States, WatchandWager holds ADW licences not only for California, but also for North Dakota (providing regulated access to a total of 28 states), together with individual State licences for New York, Kentucky, Colorado, Minnesota and Washington,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday morning.
patience can pay ; Webis where we own by far the largest chunk is up 5x in 48 hours !
— jim mellon (@jimmhk) May 15, 2018
Shares in Webis have quadrupled since members of the US Supreme Court voted 6-3 in favour of allowing states to decide for themselves whether they should legalise betting on sporting events.
"We are very excited about the likely legalization of sports wagering in the United States,” said WatchandWager’s president, Ed Comins.
“We have always believed that sports wagering would eventually come out of the shadows. As a reputable, licensed, and well-regulated company with a unique US land-based and on-line presence, WatchandWager can only benefit from this decision. As a result, we now seek partnerships with proven gaming software and other established operators in the anticipation that individual state legislation will receive approval," he added.