Investing.com -- Stifel released its April U.S. online gambling tracker on Wednesday, highlighting a slowdown in handle growth and continued challenges in the sector.

U.S. sports betting handle growth turned negative after showing modest sequential improvement in February, primarily due to tougher year-over-year comparisons. New York handle growth improved over the trailing three weeks.

iCasino gross gaming revenue growth remained below previous trends but stayed healthy and aligned with company guidance, according to Stifel.

FanDuel's handle share loss improved in March, which Stifel attributed partly to promotional activity. Kalshi volumes continued to exceed regulated online sports betting, with parlay penetration rising month-over-month.

Recent state court case updates involving Kalshi rulings showed mixed results, though they tilted in favor of states overall. Tier-2 online sports betting operator promotional reinvestment showed more rational trends, but predictions of user acquisition spending are beginning to increase regulated online sports betting customer acquisition costs.

Stifel maintained buy ratings on Sportradar (NYSE: SRAD) with a $13.43 price target, Flutter (NYSE: FLUT) with a $103.33 price target, and DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) with a $24.17 price target.

The firm said it sees a more tangible path to prediction market expansion and sentiment improvement for Sportradar and believes unregulated revenue risk is overstated following recent short reports.