What happened 

Shares of online gambling software company GAN Limited (GAN) jumped as much as 21.4% in trading today after agreeing to a new partnership in the U.S. The shares settled later in the day but were still up 9.8% at the close on Thursday. 

So what

GAN announced that it has agreed to provide an enterprise software platform for the Cordish Gaming Group’s PlayLive! business in Pennsylvania. Cordish Gaming is developing two casinos, in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and these properties will be adding online gambling powered by GAN Limited.

Mobile phone with sports betting app on a table.

Image source: Getty Images.

GAN now has clients running real-money online gambling in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Indiana, with partners expected to open operations in Michigan and Ohio next year. The company isn't going to be a well-known operator to most customers, but it's a crucial back-end solution for online gambling brands. 

Now what

Any new contract is big for GAN given the size of its business. The British company had just 11.3 million pounds ($13.9 million) of revenue in the first half of 2019, and despite rapid growth, it's an expensive stock with a $540 million market cap. But investors are betting that online gambling will proliferate and that deals like this will drive growth for many years to come.