The BETZ ETF's Will Hershey On Legal Sports Betting: 'It's A Gold Rush'

Roundhill Investments co-founder and CEO Will Hershey joined the Benzinga PreMarket Prep show this week to share his thoughts on the sports betting market and a look at some individual names. Roundhill company runs two ETFs that were discussed on the show: Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF BETZ and Roundhill BITKRAFT esports & Digital Entertainment ETF NERD.

The US Sports Betting Market: “Gambling is the largest form of entertainment globally,” Hershey said.

A 2018 Supreme Court ruling overturned the ban on sports betting in the U.S., leaving it to states to legalize and regulate the market. 

“The excitement is all about the U.S. market,” the Roundhill Investments CEO said.

“This is a new phenomenon in the U.S. It’s a gold rush.”

Sports betting, esports and entertainment are “all a play for eyeballs at the end of the day,” he said. 

The U.S. market is still new to pure play sports betting names when compared to international markets. DraftKings Inc DKNG only went public this year.

Penn National Gaming PENN is trying to become a “digital first platform,” Hershey said.

“The story shifted overnight when they invested in Barstool Sports.” 

Sports Betting Catalysts: Additional states legalizing sports betting is a catalyst for the market that could push sports betting names higher, Hershey said.

It's a way for states with budget deficits to collect substantial tax revenue, the CEO said. 

The market may still be playing catchup after months of uncertainty around major sports, he said. 

New data showing states hitting record monthly betting handles is a major catalyst, Hershey said. 

“Pent up demand” and people being “comfortable betting from a phone” are two major factors driving these numbers, he said. 

A Look At Gan Limited: The recent fall in Gan Limited GAN shares is related to the fact “they snuck in the headline that they were losing the FanDuel sportsbook business” in their recent earnings report, Hershey said, adding that the FanDuel news had previously been disclosed by Gan in an SEC filing.

The lack of inclusion in the Barstool Sportsbook sent Gan Limited shares down too, he said.

“Some parts of the market were expecting that they were going to get the sportsbook Barstool rollout” given Gan's social casino partnership with Penn Gaming, Hershey said. 

Despite these negative catalysts, Hershey said Gan is “positioned to be one of the premier third-party providers in the industry,” while remaining likely to get iGaming business from the Barstool Sportsbook and keep the FanDuel iGaming business.

Undervalued International Names: Flutter Entertainment PDYPY, the parent company of FanDuel; PokerStars; Bet Fair; Paddy Power; and Kambi, a sports data provider to betting companies, are among the interesting names in the space investors may not know about, Hershey said.

While DraftKings trades at huge multiples to sales, Flutter trades at “multiples on real net income and earnings with the same tailwinds,” the CEO said.

“FanDuel could be the winner in the U.S.”

Kambi is similar to Gan, "but they’re actually winning new business and winning new contracts,” he said. 

BETZ ETF: The Roundhill Sports Betting ETF recently passed $100 million in assets under management and is the only pure play ETF for sports betting exposure.

The major components to the ETF are companies that are sportsbook operators, iGaming operators, technology providers and lead generation companies.

Watch to the full interview with Will Hershey in the clip below, or listen to the podcast here

PreMarket Prep is a daily trading show hosted by prop trader Dennis Dick and former floor trader Joel Elconin. You can watch PreMarket Prep live every day from 8-9 a.m. ET Benzinga's YouTube channel, and the podcast is on Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, Soundcloud, Stitcher and Tunein.

To learn more about futures and options, go to Benzinga’s futures and options education resource.