Gaming stocks continue to underperform in 2026, and the Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF, which invests in a basket of gaming companies, fell 2.7% last week even as the S&P 500 Index closed nearly flat.
Aristocrat Leisure and Take-Two Interactive were among the major gainers last week, while Gambling.com and Bragg Gaming Group were the major losers.
Major Gainers
Aristocrat Leisure (ASX: ALL) +10.04%
With gains of just over 10% last week, Aristocrat Leisure was the biggest gainer in our coverage of gaming stocks. The company reported better-than-expected half-year results last week, with net profits rising 9.1% on a reported basis and 17.1% on a currency-neutral basis. The strong earnings reported triggered a buying spree in other Australian gaming stocks, including The Lottery Corporation and Light & Wonder.
Take-Two Interactive (NYSE: TTWO) +9.98%
Take-Two Interactive saw nearly double-digit gains last week. The biggest catalyst for the stock’s jump was the speculation surrounding Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 6. Leaked screenshots of an alleged email from a Best Buy affiliate marketing program suggested that physical pre-orders for the highly anticipated game could open on May 16 and run until May 21.
Notably, TTWO is set to release its quarterly earnings on May 21, and if the rumors are true, the company would use the earnings call to disclose initial sales numbers. Roth Capital estimates that GTA 6 could rake in $1 billion in initial sales and forecasts its total shipments at 40 million, versus around 34 million for GTA 5. Meanwhile, the pre-orders haven’t begun yet at the time of writing.
Codere Online (NYSE: CDRO) +3.11%
Codere Online stock rose over 3% last week and extended its year-to-date gains to 15.5%. The stock is trading near its 52-week high following stellar earnings last week. Its revenues rose 13% year-over-year in Q1, and it generated a net profit of €7.0 million, a massive turnaround compared to a net loss of €0.7 million in Q1 2025. Following the earnings report, Stifel raised the stock’s target price from $9 to $10.
Playtech Plc (LSE: PTEC) +2.84%
Playtech Plc continued its good run and rose nearly 3% last week to extend its YTD rally to almost 27%. Regulatory filings showed that Playtech’s non-executive Chairman, John Gleasure, purchased 57,000 shares last week. There wasn’t any other major announcement related to the company, though.
Major Losers
Gambling.com (NYSE: GAMB) -46.78%
With a loss of nearly 47% last week, Gambling.com was the biggest loser in our coverage of gaming stocks. The losses could be attributable to its Q1 2026 earnings, which were released on Thursday after the close of markets. The stock fell by over 42% on Friday as markets gave the earnings a thumbs down.
Gambling.com relies heavily on organic search traffic to direct users to gambling and sports betting sites. Recent updates to Google’s search algorithms have severely hurt the company’s organic visibility. To offset the loss of this free organic traffic, the company had to rapidly scale up its paid marketing channels. While this kept total Q1 revenue relatively flat at $40.4 million, it severely compressed their profit margins with the gross profit falling 11% YoY.
To make matters worse, the company lowered its annual guidance and now expects revenue between $165 million and $170 million, down from its previous guidance of $170 million to $180 million.
Along with the earnings report, the company announced an immediate, organization-wide restructuring to shift toward an AI-first business model. This includes cutting 25% of its workforce, which it says would help deliver $13 million in annualized savings. However, the massive layoffs are seen as a sign that the company is moving into a defensive survival mode rather than scaling organically.
Notably, GAMB stock had rallied ahead of the report and was among the major gainers in the preceding week amid optimism that incoming CEO Kevin McCrystle, who would take over this week, would announce significant measures to turn the business around. However, the announcements failed to cut ice with investors, and the stock plunged.
Bragg Gaming Group (NYSE: BRAG) -23.72%
Bragg Gaming Group fell nearly 24% last week and turned negative for the year. The company reported its Q1 earnings last week, which triggered the sell-off. It reported revenues of €25.7 million, which fell well short of the €28.55 million analysts had expected.
While Bragg saw strong growth in newer markets like Brazil, its total US revenue plummeted 12.1% YoY. Management attributed this sharp drop to the expiration of high-value, one-off project revenues from its contract with Caesars Entertainment in the previous year. For investors betting heavily on Bragg’s US expansion, this deceleration was a major disappointment.
Similar to other iGaming and affiliate companies this quarter, Bragg announced a defensive corporate restructuring. The company revealed it had reduced its global workforce by 12% to save €4.5 million annually. While cost-cutting can be viewed positively, the combined optics of flat revenues, US stagnation, and heavy layoffs painted a picture of a company facing severe growth hurdles.
Alongside its earnings, Bragg announced a binding agreement to acquire Drayton International in an all-stock deal. To fund the transaction, Bragg will issue 4.5 million new common shares at $2 per share. While the strategic move adds five studios and more proprietary tech, investors reacted negatively to the immediate share dilution.
Corsair Gaming (NYSE: CRSR) -14.72%
Corsair Gaming fell nearly 15% last week. There wasn’t any major announcement from the company, and the fall could be attributed to profit taking as the stock rose sharply in the preceding week following its impressive Q1 2026 earnings report. The continued sell-off in gaming stocks also stoked the fire, especially as CRSR is a high-beta name.
Other Major Earnings Last Week
In addition to the companies discussed above, several other gaming companies released their quarterly reports last week. Skillz’s Q1 revenues rose 33% YoY to $29.1 million, but the metric fell short of the $32.1 million that analysts were expecting. Garena’s parent company, Sea Limited, also released its Q1 earnings last week. Garena’s bookings rose 20.1% YoY, while the segment’s revenues and adjusted EBITDA increased by 40.6% and 25.2%.
Major Gaming Industry Developments
Last week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced parallel criminal and civil actions against an active-duty U.S. Army servicemember, Gannon Ken Van Dyke.
Van Dyke allegedly used classified, nonpublic military information regarding a US operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to place highly profitable trades on Polymarket. It is an important case and comes amid multiple insider trading allegations in prediction markets.
Elsewhere, in a landmark international expansion, Sphere Entertainment Co. and Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism officially green-lit Sphere Abu Dhabi. The $1.7 billion cutting-edge entertainment venue will be constructed on Yas Island and is scheduled to debut by late 2029, marking the franchise’s inaugural location outside of the United States.
