Watch for Yahoo Sportsbook and ESPN Sportsbook as sports betting goes mainstream

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• There could be a new heavy hitter in the sports betting sector if Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) finds a partner for Yahoo Sports.
• The private equity giant is said to have had preliminary discussions with several sports betting companies, including Australia-based PointsBet Holdings (OTCQX:PBTHF). Sources indicated that the talks are in the early stage and no deal is imminent.
• Roundhill Investment's Will Hershey noted that Yahoo Sports remains a powerful force to this day with a fantasy football offering among the most popular on the market as indicated by user engagement of over 9 billion minutes annually.
• "In my view, Apollo is smart to recognize the potential synergies between an entrenched fantasy user base and a regulated online betting platform, as any combined entity would have the ability to immediately reduce traditional advertising spend," reasoned Hershey.
• The potential entry by Apollo into the sports betting space through the creation of Yahoo Sportsbook is of interest to Penn National Gaming's (NASDAQ:PENN) Barstool Sports, DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG), Caesar Interactive (NASDAQ:CZR), BetMGM (MGM, OTCPK:GMVHF) and Flutter Entertainment's (OTCPK:PDYPY). It also throws a spotlight back on the potential for Disney (NYSE:DIS) to unveil an ESPN Sportsbook through a licensing arrangement and ratchet up the race for sports betting customers.
• Pointsbet (OTCQX:PBTHF) isn't acting like a stock with a bidding war going on with shares off 40% year-to-date. Meanwhile, DraftKings (DKNG) is still the top sports betting/iGaming stock at Morgan Stanley.