Gambling Plc Attains $2.3bn via Short Selling Campaign

(AsiaGameHub) –   A new report from the Financial Times (FT) shows that hedge funds have earned no less than $2.3 billion (£1.7 billion) in 2026 by short-selling shares of publicly traded online gambling companies.

This update comes just over a month after Muddy Waters and Callisto claimed that Sportradar, a technology firm operating in the gambling sector, collaborated with illegal gambling operators. The two entities were reported to be openly shorting Sportradar’s stock at the time.

Their strategy proved successful: the Nasdaq-listed company saw its shares drop by more than 20% on the day the allegations were made (April 23). However, Sportradar has since pushed back against these claims, stating it will “unequivocally challenge” any suggestion that it works with unlicensed operators.

Short selling: Is it proving profitable?

Yet short selling appears to have been a common—and arguably successful—practice in the industry so far this year.

Well-known publicly traded firms like Flutter Entertainment, DraftKings, and Entain have all seen significant share price declines in 2026: 55%, 30%, and 30% respectively.

The FT report indicates that traders who positioned themselves to profit from these share drops have earned $2 billion, $351 million, and $35 million from each company this year.

The share price declines for gambling and gambling-related PLCs in 2026 aren’t limited to these three companies, though.

Stockholm-listed Betsson, whose shares have surged nearly 1,200% since its initial listing almost 20 years ago, has lost a third of its value this year alone. Its fellow Swedish firm Raketech has seen a nearly 10% drop.

Paris-listed FDJ United, which now owns Unibet and 32Red, is down just over 1% year-to-date—though it fell around 9% when it released its Q1 2026 results.

While companies like Playtech, Evolution AB, and Rank Group are bucking the trend of plummeting shares, gambling PLCs have faced headwinds from the rise of prediction markets and higher taxation across Europe (notably in the UK) over the past 12 months.

Even LSE-listed evoke, which is up 56% in 2026, remains down 39% over the past year with a share price of around 34.5p—far from Bally’s Intralot’s pending 50p-per-share offer for the entire business.

It’s not all bad news for gambling PLCs

However, analysts have shared signs of optimism with SBC News in recent months regarding certain gambling stocks.

Sports data and technology provider Genius Sports is down 50% year-to-date following its $1.2 billion acquisition of digital sports and gaming media network Legend.

At the time of the deal, investors expressed some apprehension over perceived confusion about how Legend would align with Genius Sports’ overall strategy. But in April, analysts from Needham and Macquarie were confident the stock could recover.

Since then, Genius Sports’ share price has bounced back from $4.38 to $5.35—a jump of over 20%.

Macquarie analysts are also confident that Flutter Entertainment (the world’s largest online gambling PLC, owning brands like FanDuel, Paddy Power, and Sky Betting and Gaming) can offset UK tax rises and the looming threat of prediction markets in the US.

The investment firm maintains a target price of $190 for Flutter—nearly double its current $97 share price—because it believes the company’s underlying numbers are still in its favor.

For now, though, short sellers seem to be coming out on top overall.

With many headwinds still impacting industry businesses globally, this trend may continue in the future. But there are still some who hold out hope for gambling PLC shares.