Jason Ader is an American investor and entrepreneur, founder of SpringOwl Asset Management. He is a veteran of the gaming and hospitality industry with over 25 years of experience, including serving on the board of Las Vegas Sands Corporation from 2009-2016 and as a top-ranked gaming analyst at Bear Stearns.

What is SpringOwl Asset Management?

SpringOwl Asset Management is an investment firm founded by Jason Ader in 2015, specializing in gaming, hospitality, and technology investments. The firm is with offices in Florida, New York, and Tel Aviv.

What is Jason Ader's background?

Jason Ader began his career at Bear Stearns as a gaming and lodging analyst, where he was ranked #1 by Institutional Investor. He later served on the board of Las Vegas Sands Corporation during its international expansion. He holds an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business.

What does Jason Ader invest in?

Through SpringOwl, Jason Ader invests in gaming technology, hospitality systems, sports betting infrastructure, and digital entertainment platforms. The firm focuses on companies at the intersection of technology and the leisure economy.

Is Jason Ader an activist investor?

Yes, Jason Ader is known for activist investing. His major deals include the $1.6 billion sale of bwin.party to GVC Holdings and architecting the Flutter-Stars Group merger that created the world's largest online gaming company. He currently serves on the board of Playtech.

Jason Ader Investor Profile | Gaming & Hospitality Expert

Jason Ader has built a career at the intersection of Wall Street analysis and operational investing. From covering gaming stocks at Bear Stearns to serving on the board of the world's largest casino company, his trajectory reflects a deep commitment to understanding what makes gaming and hospitality businesses succeed.

Investment Career

Ader's investment career began in the mid-1990s at Bear Stearns, where he established himself as one of Wall Street's premier gaming and lodging analysts. His research coverage spanned the major casino operators, hotel chains, and emerging gaming markets, earning recognition from Institutional Investor's annual rankings.

This analytical foundation proved invaluable when transitioning to the investment side. Understanding cash flow dynamics, regulatory frameworks, and operational metrics allowed Ader to identify opportunities that purely financial investors might miss.

Board Experience

From 2009 to 2016, Jason Ader served on the board of Las Vegas Sands Corporation, at the time the world's largest gaming company by market capitalization. This period coincided with the company's expansion into Singapore with Marina Bay Sands and continued development in Macau.

Board service provided direct experience with the challenges of operating integrated resorts across multiple regulatory jurisdictions, managing large-scale capital projects, and navigating complex stakeholder relationships.

SpringOwl Asset Management

In 2015, Ader founded SpringOwl Asset Management, an investment firm focused on gaming, hospitality, and technology. Based in Florida with teams in New York and Tel Aviv, SpringOwl takes concentrated positions in companies where operational improvements or strategic changes can create value.

The firm's approach combines traditional security analysis with activist investing principles, engaging constructively with management teams to implement improvements. Investments span public equities, private companies, and special situations.

Notable Investments

Ader's activist investing approach has produced some of the gaming industry's most significant transactions:

bwin.party — Took a majority stake in 2014, engineered the $1.6 billion sale to GVC Holdings in 2015
The Stars Group — Blocked the Baazov takeover and architected the Flutter Entertainment merger (2020), creating the world's largest online gaming company
Playtech — Current board member with significant stake; B2B gaming technology platform processing 1 billion bets daily
IGT — Activist position in gaming equipment and systems leader

Investment Themes

Current focus areas include the evolution of sports betting and online gaming in the United States, technology infrastructure serving the gaming industry, and hospitality companies positioned for recovery and transformation.

Ader has been particularly active in analyzing prediction markets, regulatory evolution in gaming, and the application of technology to traditional casino and hospitality operations.

Author

Ader is the author of "Deviate to Win: Insights From A Turnaround Investor," which draws on his experience identifying and executing on investment opportunities in the gaming and hospitality sectors.

Education

Jason Ader holds an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business and a bachelor's degree in economics from New York University.