A Recent Supreme Court Decision May Have Triggered a Huge Rally in This Sector

Editor's note: This week, we're passing along an essay from our friends at our corporate affiliate Casey Research. In it, editor Justin Spittler highlights the massive gains that investors could see in the coming years as a multibillion-dollar "black market" becomes legal...


108% in eight months... 249% in 10 months... 324% in nine months...

These are huge gains. Most investors never make that much money in such a short period of time. But that's not even the craziest part.

You see, the same catalyst triggered each one of these explosive moves.

The gains above are from Canadian marijuana stocks. Each stock went on to deliver huge returns after Canada's government announced its plans to legalize marijuana outright on April 13, 2017. In other words, these were straightforward trades... All you had to do was buy these stocks after that big announcement, and you could have made a fortune.

But here's the thing...

These weren't the only Canadian marijuana stocks that took off last spring. The entire industry got a boost. The Canadian Marijuana Index – which tracks Canada's largest publicly traded cannabis stocks – jumped 159% in nine months after the announcement. That, too, is an incredible gain.

But I didn't write this essay to lay out that bullish case again...

I wrote it because the huge rally we saw with Canadian marijuana stocks shows what can happen when a government legitimizes a black market.

And that's important for a simple reason...

Another opportunity like this is taking shape before our eyes. And this one could deliver even bigger gains than what we saw with Canadian marijuana stocks. Today, I'll show you a simple way to position yourself for those huge returns.

But first, let's look at what will spark this rally...

On May 14, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a controversial federal law... This law had barred single-game gambling in most U.S. states.

Just to be clear, the Supreme Court didn't legalize gambling outright. Instead, it will allow each state the power to license, regulate, and tax the industry within its borders. Justice Samuel Alito said the Supreme Court did this because it thinks gambling should be a state issue...

The legalization of sports gambling requires an important policy choice, but the choice is not ours to make. Congress can regulate sports gambling directly, but if it elects not to do so, each state is free to act on its own.

There's plenty of money to be made in gambling stocks today.

That's because the sports betting market is massive... But most of these bets are currently facilitated by the black market. In fact, the American Gaming Association estimates that the illegal market for sports betting brings in $150 billion every year.

That's a potential $150 billion up for grabs that the Supreme Court is unlocking...

The march toward legalization is already underway... Delaware, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, and West Virginia have all joined Nevada with full-scale legalized sports betting. And four other states – Arkansas, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island – have recently passed laws that will allow sports betting in at least a limited nature.

In short, the legal market for sports betting looks like it's about to explode...

My colleague at Casey Research, E.B. Tucker, also thinks that there's a ton of money for investors to make off online sports betting. Here's what he recently told his Strategic Investor subscribers...

This is exactly the type of sea change we look for at Strategic Investor. The government deciding it will lay down arms and allow licensed, legal operating of anything means a chance to profit.

By striking down a federal law prohibiting sports betting, the Supreme Court opened the floodgates to a multibillion-dollar industry.

As sports betting comes out of the shadows and into the mainstream, we see a huge profit opportunity.

E.B. also believes that the opportunity here is much bigger than people think. Here's what he said recently about the so-called $150 billion market potential...

Those are big numbers, and they're likely accurate. Right now, almost all of that revenue flows through unsavory hands. The truth is that nobody knows what legalized sports betting would be worth.

Opportunities like this don't come around often... When they do, you should take advantage of them. So consider speculating on casino and gambling stocks if you haven't yet.

You can easily do so by buying the VanEck Vectors Gaming Fund (BJK). This fund invests in 43 casino and gaming stocks. That makes it a relatively safe way to bet on this megatrend.

Regards,

Justin Spittler

Editor's note: Because of the Supreme Court's landmark ruling, E.B. predicts that more than $4 billion will flow into the sports-betting industry on February 4, 2019. And even better, he has pinpointed three stocks in particular that could return as much as 10 times your money if you get in before that day. Get all the details here.