The regular college and professional football seasons are just around the corner. The smart money is betting on further upside with the Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF (BETZ).
On its product website, BETZ positions itself as a fund that can provide exposure to the “booming sports betting industry.” Indeed, it’s been booming and is poised to boom even further. Grand View Research noted that the global sports betting market could reach close to $190 billion by the year 2030, with a compounded annual growth rate of 11% in the next five years.
One of the growth catalysts has been the explosion of online gaming and easing regulatory measures. The byproduct of that growth is already making its way to the Las Vegas strip. That has been seeing a post-pandemic slowdown at its brick and mortar casinos despite gambling reaching peak levels. The shift to online gaming could continue to expand globally. That could provides a unique opportunity for investors to add a niche growth-focused fund to their portfolios via BETZ.
Up Nearly 30% YTD
The investment case for BETZ is further punctuated by its performance so far this year. Up almost 30% year-to-date, it’s easily besting the sector as seen through the performance of the S&P 500 Casinos & Gaming index, as well as the broader S&P 500.
BETZ data by YCharts
With over 30 holdings, BETZ tracks track the performance of the Morningstar Sports Betting & iGaming Select Index. Helping to power its performance are its top five holdings (as of August 19). Those are Flutter Entertainment, Lottomatica Group, DraftKings, Super Group, and Genius Sports. Super Group and Genius Sports Limited have been standout performers thus far. Combined, the top five are averaging almost 20% for the year. Again, that’s well above the S&P 500.
FLUT data by YCharts
Robinhood All in on Sports Betting
In traditional investing circles, it’s easy to scoff at the notion that sports betting could serve alongside the financial markets. However, online investing platform giant Robinhood begs to differ.
As reported by CNBC, Robinhood plans to add prediction markets for college and professional football to its investment platform. At its latest Q2 earnings call, CEO Vlad Tenev mentioned “a big opportunity” awaits in sports wagering. That is where the company is seeing strong engagement.
The move might draw some ire from traditional investors who see the mixing of investing in traditional assets with sports wagering as akin to mixing oil and water. However, the same was said about cryptocurrencies mixing with stocks and bonds. Now, there are a number of ETFs that cater to the digital currencies market.
There’s a lot of convincing the sports betting industry needs to do. But if the industry ends up on the right side of that bet, BETZ is worth a closer look.
For more news, information, and analysis, visit VettaFi | ETF Trends.
Prepare your bond portfolio for changing market conditions. Register today for the Fixed Income Symposium on Sept. 18, 2025, 11AM ET / 8AM PT.
Read more commentaries by VettaFi
