Are on-line gambling stocks good stocks to buy?

Debora Rinderer: No, at least not in the sense of what you might do in Vegas. I consider it an investment in a company's potential. There is an element of chance in the stock market, but a stock's price is rarely determined entirely by chance. Rather, a company's stocks rise or fall based on the performance of that company. Sometimes events will occur that will shift the entire market, like the recent financial crisis, but this is more an exception than a rule. Investing in stock is a manifestation of a belief in that company's ability to grow and return wealth. It is similar to buying a product in hopes of selling for a greater return. There are elements of luck to make profitable sales, but it also requires hard work, patience, and searching for a good opportunity. Gambling is throwing some dice or flipping a card. Very little skill and dedication is required to win in gambling, just a lot of luck....Show more

Torri Tippey: As far as I can tell, most of the online! gambling stocks are listed in UK. The bigger names are Partygaming, Sportingbet, 888 Poker etc etc. These stocks are not listed in USA because internet gambling is "deemed" illegal (or at least it is a grey area but legality of such businesses is questionable).Whether these are worthwhile investments is another question ? I think so but I would only invest a very small % of my portfolio in these stocks. All these stocks have come off 80-90% since the US passed the law to forbid US financial institutions from knowingly deal with these websites. Because they derive 80-90% of their business from US customers, these stocks collapsed.In other words, the market has adjusted for the disaster. But there are some concerns: a) EU is debating with its member countries to see if internet gambling should be controlled, and b) all the internet gambling companies are now fighting for market shares in Europe. A small pond needs to feed lots of fish so to speak.On the other hands, they are! valued at 15-20X 07 PE. Arguably, fairly cheap relative to mo! st other internet stocks. And so far it looks like they will grow quite nicely (15-30% with some luck) once they fully adjust to the non-US markets.My gut feeling is these stocks are worth a punt. But I remain concerned about the regulatory environment in EU. I would only put a small % of my money into these stocks....Show more

Mayola Sylva: I don't think they are legal to hold in the U.S. Given what has been happening to the CEO's of the gaming companies that come into the U.S., I wouldn't want to hold them here. I think brand names make a huge difference. Its a growing industry, although as I recall, a pricey one. Half the football teams in England have an online casino as a shirt sponsor, so the business figures to grow. The public companies big disadvantage is they really can't compete in the U.S.