Amaya Gaming is all in on New Jersey gaming, says Cantor Fitzgerald

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement disclosed that the Trump Plaza and the Trump Taj Mahal have received New Jersey Internet Gaming permits.Amaya Gaming (TSX:AYA) is well positioned in the nascent New Jersey online gaming market, and recent partner wins have made the Canadian company increasingly entrenched.

In February of this year, New Jersey became the third state to legalize online gaming. On November 26th it will become the second US state to actually launch online gaming.

Dozens of companies have applied for licenses in New Jersey, and recently the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement disclosed that the Trump Plaza and the Trump Taj Mahal have, in fact, received New Jersey Internet Gaming permits.

Kew notes that these these are the third and fourth permits issued to date, with the Golden Nugget receiving the second and Borgata the first. With six of the 12 land-based casinos in the New Jersey market already signed on a clients, Amaya is one of the best positioned online gaming providers, he says, noting that the company already has two clients with licenses; the Golden Nugget for platform, poker, casino and content, and the Trump Plaza for poker.

The Cantor Fitzgerald analyst says that while the size of the New Jersey online gaming market is difficult to determine right now, he estimates it will be as large as $350-million over the next three to five years. He expects Amaya will capture a “material” percentage of this.

Kew says he considers this take on the market size conservative, noting that New Jersey Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff has publicly stated that the market could be as large as $1.2 billion the first year of its operation alone.

In a research update to clients this morning, Kew reiterated his BUY recommendation and $8.50 one-year price target on Amaya Gaming.

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