LONDON, January 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
This time last year STC was predicted to be the rising star of 2013 and the hot place to invest.
So how did it go?
Traditionally investing in Sports Trading is not for the faint-hearted - so much so that a lack of analyst depth and knowledge of the sector means that many professional fund managers try to avoid the sector altogether.
But the collapse of the gold price and the ongoing implosion of the mining sector during the past year have prompted a steady flow of funds into the sector for the first time.
And some of the results can't be ignored. The Sports Trading Club, (http://www.sportstradingclub.com) which was predicted by many this time last year to be the rising star of 2013, put in the top performance in any industry, with an 18-fold rise in return, meaning a $50,000 investment on the 1st January 2013 was worth over $900,000 one year later. A rise of over 1,900 per cent.
There have been plenty of investment winners in 2013, and small has again proved to be beautiful. The junior AIM market provided the biggest movers and shakers.
David Breith, an award-winning techno entrepreneur, became chief executive of Coms, the internet service provider, in January and splashed out £247,000 on 81.4million shares at an average 0.43p a pop. He has transformed the company, with stock taking the gold medal with a rise of 970 per cent.
Bolt-on acquisitions have been made and the board recently revealed a promising order book and profits in line with management expectations. David Lenigas's Rare Earth Minerals was not far behind with a leap of 883 per cent.
But nothing compares to the success of the Sports Trading Club and the growth of on-line gambling.
The Sports Trading Club, which operates as a private investors group in England, allowed the general public to become members in Australia in 2013 and is now expanding throughout Asia.
Its success in 2013 has sent a clear message to investors that trading on sports and prediction markets is an emerging industry to rival traditional financial markets.
"Our move to Australia has proven to be astute. A person who invested $50,000 on January 1 of this year has seen that grow to $905,000," said STC UK Communications Manager Patrick McMahon.
"We don't gamble, we trade," Mr McMahon said. "At the Sports Trading Club we make money out of other people's mistakes. When one side gambles, and the other trades, it is like owning the casino; you make money even whilst you sleep."
"This is an exciting emerging market and growing at an unprecedented rate, making it the fastest growing sector of e-commerce in the world today," he said.
Bank of America and Merrill Lynch predict that by 2015 the on-line sports market will be worth over $512 billion a year.
STC recently expanded into South Africa and is now looking toward expanding throughout Europe and Asia. It sees the emerging USA market as a potential gold mine.
In the USA, Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware are the only states that have so far legalized Internet gambling, but it is spreading throughout the USA and internationally. States began legalizing online betting after the U.S. Justice Department reversed its ban on Internet gambling in December 2011. California, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts and Texas were among the states have also considered proposals related to online gambling.
Worldwide, online betting generates almost $30 billion of revenue a year, with Americans spending $4 billion, according to estimates from the American Gaming Association.
In New Jersey, Republican Gov. Chris Christie is hoping his state can collect $1.2 billion a year from legal online betting.
Share this article