The broader markers were steady last week, and the broader-based S&P 500 Index gained 0.55%, building on the previous week’s gains. Tech stocks, meanwhile, soared, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index gained 1.5% last week. It was a dismal week for gaming stocks, though, and the Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF (NYSE: BETZ) fell 0.7%.
Skillz and Monarch Casinos were among the major gainers last week, while Genius Sports and Las Vegas Sands were the major losers.
Major Gainers
Skillz Inc (NYSE: SKLZ) +104.39%
Skillz was by far the biggest gainer in our coverage of gaming stocks last week, more than doubling during the period. While the stock had a weak start to the year, it has more than tripled over the last month. The rally has not only helped it bridge its year-to-date (YTD) losses, but the stock is now up a cool 84% for the year.
Last week’s rally was primarily driven by a significant legal victory in a false-advertising lawsuit against rival Papaya Gaming. Skillz accused Papaya of deceiving players by using bots in matches advertised as human vs. human.
A Manhattan federal jury found Papaya Gaming liable for false advertising and awarded Skillz $420 million in damages. The jury also suggested that Skillz might be entitled to $652 million in “disgorgement” (the profits Papaya made from the practice). A judge is expected to rule on this additional amount in June 2026.
The legal victory triggered a massive short squeeze in SKLZ stock, which has a low float. That said, while Skillz saw an intraday rally of more than 400%, it could not hold on to the gains entirely, as first, Papaya might appeal the jury’s decision, and second, it does not have the balance sheet strength to pay that hefty amount to Skillz.
Monarch Casinos (NYSE: MCRI) +14.92%
Monarch Casinos’ stock rose almost 15% last week, with the bulk of the gains coming after the company released its Q1 2026 earnings. MCRI’s revenues rose 8.9% year-over-year (YoY) to a record high of $136.6 million. Its EPS rose almost 45% YoY to $1.52, which easily surpassed the $1.15 that analysts were expecting.
During the quarter, Monarch increased market share at both the Atlantis and Monarch Black Hawk properties. The management was quite upbeat on the outlook, and CEO John Farahi said, “We remain confident that we have opportunities to increase revenue in both markets, while deploying technology to reduce operating costs.”
Super Group (NYSE: SGHC) +10.98%
Super Group also posted double-digit gains last week, helping it recoup its 2026 losses and turn positive for the year. There wasn’t any major company-specific news last week, and the rise came amid the broader market uptrend.
Notably, Super Group is the parent company of Betway sportsbook and announced an exit from the US market in 2024. Its European operations have, however, done well, which helped the stock rally last year despite jitters over the U.K. gambling tax hike.
In March, Formula 1 announced that Betway would be the first Official Betting Operator from this year as part of a multi-year deal.
Major Losers
Genius Sports (NYSE: GENI) -8.59%
Genius Sports, which soared almost 25% in the preceding week, was back to its losing ways and lost over 8% last week, extending its YTD loss to almost 60%.
GENI has looked weak since it reported Q4 2025 earnings, which showed the company’s per-share loss was 8 cents, while consensus estimates called for a 3-cent profit. Moreover, it guided 2026 revenues to between $810 million and $820 million, which also fell well short of the $873 million that analysts had been modeling.
Markets are also apprehensive about the $1.2 billion acquisition of Legend that Genius Sports announced, given the cost and the complexity of integrating such a large entity.
Wall Street analysts have also been gradually lowering the target price, and last week Truist joined the bandwagon by slashing the stock’s target price from $13 to $10. Stifel and Citigroup also lowered GENI’s target price earlier this month. That said, despite these cuts, Genius Sports has a mean target price of $12.50, which implies the stock will almost triple from these levels.
Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) -8.38%
Las Vegas Sands stock fell by more than 8% last week as markets gave a thumbs-down to its Q1 earnings.
The company reported strong earnings results, with net revenue and net income rising 25.3% and 57.1% YoY, respectively, both ahead of Street estimates. However, there are concerns regarding margin compression in Macau and broader geopolitical/economic anxieties surrounding the Chinese market.
Wall Street analysts weren’t too perturbed, though, and while Deutsche and JPMorgan Chase lowered the stock’s target price following the earnings, Jefferies, Barclays, Morgan Stanley, Stifel, Mizuho, and HSBC raised their respective targets.
Rank Group Plc (LSE: RNK) -8.2%
Rank Group, which was otherwise having a decent year, fell by over 8% last week and is now up just about 1.5% for the year. Last week, the stock fell below its 200-day moving average, which is seen as a bearish indicator by many traders, and breaching the key price level often leads to sell signals for many algorithmic traders.
There was also some profit-taking after the company issued a strong trading update earlier this month, which included full-year operating profit guidance of at least £68 million.
Major Gaming Industry Developments
Caesars Entertainment faced a new lawsuit last week over alleged data breaches in 2023 and earlier this year.
Looking at developments in prediction markets, Kalshi fined and suspended three US congressional candidates for betting on their own elections. One candidate, John Klein, was caught wagering on his primary while simultaneously co-sponsoring legislation to ban prediction markets, a move being labeled as the latest high-profile example of insider trading in the sector.
In a jolt to prediction markets, Brazilian authorities blocked access to Polymarket and Kalshi. Finance Minister Dario Durigan cited the need to shield investors from unregulated risks, with the national telecommunications agency swiftly taking down the sites.
Earnings Reports
Penn Entertainment released its earnings last week. Its revenues rose 6.4% YoY, but importantly, it turned nearly breakeven on the net profit level.
After rebranding its digital strategy, ending its partnership with ESPN to move toward a more integrated approach, the Interactive segment narrowed its losses significantly. It reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of $10.8 million, a major improvement from the $89 million loss in Q1 2025. The markets received the earnings well, and Penn stock soared after the earnings, closing the week almost 9% higher.
Boyd Gaming reported mixed earnings, with slight revenue growth but a shortfall on the bottom line. The stock ended the week down over 4%.
Churchill Downs, however, beat on both the top and bottom lines, which helped the stock rise over 10% last week. The company saw strong growth across its Live and Historical Racing segments, bolstered by new venue openings and strategic acquisitions.
Looking ahead, we are now in the busiest week of this earnings season, with announcements from tech giants like Apple, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, and Amazon lined up. Among gaming stocks, Caesars Entertainment, Rush Street Interactive, and MGM Resorts are set to report their earnings this week.
