Economy takes us$ 140 billion toll on top 50 gambling companies

During the last 12 months the 50 largest gambling companies by market capitalization have seen us$ 140 billion wiped off their total value. In January 2008 Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands was the largest listed gambling company in the world by market capitalization.

By January 2009 it had fallen to 10th place having lost revenues in both Macau and Las Vegas, shelved plans for a casino in Kansas and been told by the Singapore government that financial help will not be forthcoming if it falls behind with its US$2.7bn Marina Bay resort development.

Interestingly, and in stark contrast to the free market, the world’s largest gambling company by market capitalization is now OPAP the monopoly provider of sports betting services and numerical lotteries in Greece. It is perhaps surprising that OPAP and Greece are under threat from the liberalization of gambling laws across Europe but the market is telling us that they expect OPAP to maintain its monopoly.

In April 2003 the UK-listed Rank and William Hill were ranked 7th and 8th but today we have see William Hill at 20th and Rank 36th as the latter grapples with the negative effects of the smoking ban in its casinos and bingo clubs, while William Hill is experiencing increased competition from online operators in its home market and the compliance costs imposed by the new gambling commission.

The enigma is Wynn Resorts. Ranked 11th in April 2003 the company has managed to climb against adversity to be ranked 5th by gambling market cap in January 2009. The eponymous Wynn Resorts has concentrated on the discerning large staking gambler who is less prone to the economic downturn than the mass market catered for by Las Vegas Sands (LVS).

Notes for editors GBGC has established itself as the most credible specialist international gambling consultancy in the world. The company has work with or supplied information to over 400 clients the majority of whom are ’blue chip’.

In addition to its consultancy GBGC has produced four reviews of the global gambling market that have been widely acknowledged to be the best available both in terms of both their detail and accuracy. The latest review published October 2008 extends to over 1000 pages.

The statistics and forecasts that are contained within the Global Gambling Report have become widely recognized, within the industry, the financial community and the Media, as the industry standard for sizing both the online and offline gambling markets.

Consequently GBGC are the most widely quoted source of industry data in share prospectuses and analysts’ notes as well as on TV/Radio and in publications as diverse as the Financial Times, Forbes, Time Magazine, BBC Radio 4, BBC Breakfast, ITN news, the Economist and Fortune magazine.