Finance

Wall Street Wades Into Sports Gambling as Legalization Spreads

Stocks, bonds, and a bit of basketball.

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By Annie Massa

November 22, 2019 at 10:00 AM UTC

Updated on

November 22, 2019 at 6:38 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

This article is part of the November 25, 2019 issue of businessweek.

The line between trading and gambling has always been fuzzy. So now that 13 U.S. states have live legal sports betting and several more have approved it, following a 2018 Supreme Court ruling, it’s natural to wonder if Wall Street will start looking for a piece of the action.

A few firms already are. At least one is actually making bets, much as a hedge fund trades stocks. Susquehanna International Group LLP, a quantitative trading firm headquartered in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., is building up a sports betting division in Ireland, where such wagers have long been legal. The business unit, called Nellie Analytics—named after co-founder Jeff Yass’s dog—has about 20 employees.