Europe’s first ETF targeting sports and online betting companies is set to launch in June following the industry’s impressive performance during the pandemic and loosened restrictions in the US.
The Sports Betting and iGaming UCITS ETF (BETZ) is set to list on the London Stock Exchange with a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.69%.
BETZ will arrive courtesy of white label issuer, HANetf, and follows the launch of its Solar Energy UCITS ETF (TANN), the first solar pure-play strategy available to European investors.
Tracking the Solactive Fischer Sports Betting and iGaming index, BETZ focuses on companies that derive most of their revenues from sports betting and iGaming, with the latter covering online casino games such as blackjack, slots and fantasy sports.
BETZ’s underlying index saw back-tested returns of 121.2% over the 12 months to 10 May 2021 and recently benefited from regulatory shifts allowing individual US states to legalise sports betting and iGaming.
According to a Goldman Sachs equity research report published in March, the US sports betting and iGaming market can expect to grow by a factor of 23 between 2021 and 2033, from a valuation of $2.3bn to $53bn.
Aaron Fischer, co-founder of BETZ, commented: “Having witnessed a huge uptick in the take-up of sports betting and iGaming boosted by favourable regulatory changes, we feel that now is the perfect time to launch BETZ.
“Our index includes a range of companies from the larger consumer facing companies that include Caesars Entertainment, DraftKings, Flutter, Entain, MGM Resorts International and PointsBet.
“We also include some ‘picks and shovels’ companies that provide other services to the industry and form an important part of the industry value chain. Some examples include Evolution Gaming, IGT, Playtech and Kambi.”
Hector McNeil, co-founder and co-CEO of HANetf, added: “We are delighted to finally offer the European investor a seat at the sports betting and iGaming table, having watched from the side-lines as their North American counterparts have taken advantage of this exciting growth market.”
