ABC News: Star Entertainment has found a lifeline for now but casinos face long-term problems [Tues 11-March-2025]

I won't bother reproducing that article as it's not behind a paywall, so just click on the link above to read it. SGR is still suspended from trading, and their longer term future remains unclear, however I do note that with the exception of Aristocrat Leisure (ALL), ASX-listed gambling companies have not been kind to investors over the past three years:

I realised after I'd done that graph that I forgot one, Ainsworth Game Technology (AGI), which Len Ainsworth started after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1984 and giving all of his Aristocrat Leisure (ALL) stock away to his family and then becoming cancer-free. Following that clear diagnosis, Ainsworth initially retired and then established AGI, later selling his majority stake in AGI to Novomatic for A$473 million when Len was aged 94 years. He's now around 102 and still going. Link: https://asgam.com/2023/07/11/len-ainsworth-founder-of-slot-machine-giants-aristocrat-and-ainsworth-turns-100/ [11-July-2023]

Anyway, the three year return on AGI has been -24.78%, so AGI has also lost ground, just not as much ground as those other 7 companies have (the 7 that are not Aristrocrat).

A few of them have more positive returns over shorter-term share price charts, like TAH over 6 months and PBH over 1 year, but only Aristocrat (ALL) has outperformed over 3 years.

I avoid the sector myself so I haven't held any of these companies except for a small JIN position a few years back for a short time (I do like to buy the odd lottery ticket every now and then) - but having read about all of the issues that Australian casinos have been having in recent years, I thought I'd just check out how the sector has been travelling, and the answer appears to be: Not good.

Big difference between the best performer (and only positive performer over 3 years), ALL, and the worst, SGR:

Still, plenty of other fish in the sea.

I personally prefer to roll the dice in the Aussie gold sector where I think the odds are more in my favour.

28-03-2025: Addition: Two weeks on, I came across Light & Wonder (LNW) which has actually performed about as well as ALL has, and I remembered TLC, which hasn't. See here: #Class Action impact for Light & Wonder, Inc.

Also, LNW vs ALL:

LNW has only been listed on the ASX since May 2023, hence the green line for LNW.asx starting there. They've been listed on the NASDAQ for over a decade.

My takeaway from that is that two of the companies (ALL, LNW) who make the actual slot machines (a.k.a. pokies) have provided decent investment returns but the remainder of the sector is underwater over three years. But LNW has a class action being mounted against them and has been in dispute with ALL (Aristocrat Leisure) over LNW's "Dragon Train" game. So while LNW looks cheaper, it has more risk, including that it is dual listed (NASDAQ + ASX) so is subject to legal issues in the USA, where you know they love to sue...

Disc: I don't hold any companies in this sector.