Voters in Louisiana, Maryland and South Dakota all approved propositions that will enable some locations in the states to run sportsbooks or allow sports betting. Stocks of DraftKings (6.2 per cent), Penn National Gaming (6.1 per cent) and Flutter Entertainment (2.5 per cent) all rose in Wednesday morning training. (Bloomberg)

Talking point: A May 2018 Supreme Court ruling effectively allowed states to legalize sports betting. Bills and referenda have been bringing more jurisdictions to the legal wager table ever since. New Jersey, an early adopter, saw nearly US$3.3 billion in bets for the year through mid-October, while Morgan Stanley estimated the three states that signed off Tuesday will create a market worth a combined US$537 million. Ireland-based Flutter Entertainment took over Toronto’s Stars Group in a friendly US$6-billion deal that closed in May, creating the world’s largest online gaming company. Toronto-based sports-news site theScore is also among those looking to take advantage of the new U.S. gambling market; a July 2019 deal with Penn National gives its sportsbooks access to the firm’s casinos and racetracks in 11 states, including Louisiana. It’s also looking to launch other games like online poker and blackjack. The stock opened up four per cent.