Now that a new year is upon us, it’s a great time to step back and take note of how certain industries are performing. Let’s start with the American iGaming industry, a space that’s still growing and hasn’t yet reached the maturity of its European counterparts. Here we’ve analyzed the four strongest stocks in American iGaming and how they could perform in 2026.
DraftKings – DKNG
DraftKings is one of the biggest names in American iGaming, having started as a fantasy sports service. Then, in 2018, easing betting restrictions allowed DraftKings and other American ventures to move into the sports betting market and even launch full-fledged online casino services. The result was a flood of casino apps for New Jersey players, all competing with one another through promotions like deposit matching, free spin offers, and cashback possibilities to sweeten the deal. Other states followed, with more states planning to legalize their own competitive iGaming markets.
DraftKings went public in 2020, and now, over the new year, it’s trading in the $35 to $36 range. Its highs at $47 and $53 are a recent memory in 2025, and so bullish traders want to see it return to those levels. Now DraftKings is moving into the predictions market – a boom driven by services like Kalshi and Polymarket – and they plan to offer this new market in regions where they can’t offer sports betting.
On the sports betting front, we also have the FIFA World Cup, which the US is co-hosting. The lion’s share of football matches kick off in American cities and, when they do, you can expect a boost in DraftKings usage from passionate fans.
We’d say it’s a moderate buy, targeting a more conservative $44.
FanDuel – FLUT
Besides DraftKings, FanDuel is another major player in American sports betting. They have a similar story – a fantasy sports service turned iGaming jack-of-all-trades. They’ve piled into online casino technology a lot more than DraftKings has and have made a business model out of attracting sports bettors and then cross-selling some of them into their casino. The casino side is more profitable, so it finds fewer quality customers, while the sports side gathers a larger, less profitable, but convertible crowd.
Over the new year, FLUT has traded in the $215 to $219 range. Analysts are expecting this to go higher since it has been consistently profitable and, more broadly, the regulatory situation in the US looks like it’ll trend toward allowing FanDuel’s business model to thrive.
That’s why we have it as a strong buy, with a price target at $300 for this year.
BetMGM – MGM
MGM is a prestige brand that many will associate with the movie studio or their luxury hotels and casinos, like the MGM Grand in Vegas. But, since 2018, they’ve also worked to bring the casino experience online through BetMGM. They also inked partnerships with the NFL and NASCAR, and English football clubs to propel their sports betting solutions forward.
For 2026, it’s all about BetMGM’s fundamentals. They aren’t making a new, trendy expansion like DraftKings, but they are targeting a $500 million positive EBITDA by the end of 2026. This new milestone would likely force a re-rating of the stock, allowing it to outperform the market. No specific targets; this is a bet on stable growth.
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theScore Bet – PENN
theScore Bet may be a Canadian outfit, but it operates in America and belongs to Penn Entertainment, Inc., tradable on the Nasdaq. They recently bowed out of an ESPN partnership in late 2025, so this company is now looking to run a lean, reliable operation that relies on its loyal user base.
They’re targeting the lean digital strategy, cutting bloat and using technology to keep things ticking fast, efficient, and most importantly, profitable. theScore Bet’s roots are in Ontario, where they still have a loyal customer base, but that could change in 2026 now that Alberta is launching its own Ontario-style iGaming market.
The combination of these could make PENN a savvy investment in 2026, but it’s all but guaranteed. That’s why we’ve rated it as a speculative buy.
