The fund formerly known as the VanEck Gaming ETF (NYSEARCA:BJK) has changed character in a way income holders need to understand. Effective April 9, 2026, VanEck converted BJK into the VanEck Digital Native Economy ETF (GENZ), swapping a casino-and-gaming portfolio for a digital-platform thematic. That matters for anyone holding the fund for income: the prior trailing yield sat in the high-3% range, and the new holdings prioritize growth. The honest assessment is that BJK was never a pure income vehicle, and after the rebrand it is even less of one.
How the fund actually generates income
BJK’s distributions came from dividends paid by its underlying holdings rather than from options premiums or bond coupons. The legacy index leaned on casino operators and gaming REITs like VICI Properties and Gaming and Leisure Properties, which carried the income load. The interactive entertainment names provided growth while contributing little yield. The post-rebrand portfolio tracks the MarketVector Digital Native Economy Index, with an expense ratio of 0.50%, and its top holdings include Uber and other platform companies that pay no dividend at all.
Why the income load now falls on a handful of payers
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA | EA Price Prediction) pays $0.19 quarterly, flat for 16 consecutive quarters since mid-2022. Coverage looks healthy: FY26 operating cash flow was $2.55 billion against just $191 million in dividends, with $1.06 billion returned through buybacks. EA clearly favors repurchases over dividend growth, which means BJK holders should not expect rising payouts from this name.
NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) is the more meaningful income contributor, but the cadence is lumpy. The Q1 2026 distribution was $1.16 per ADS, versus $0.72 most recently, reflecting a policy tied to roughly 20-30% of net income. EPS of $7.82 and a 22% return on equity support continued payments, but quarter-to-quarter variability is the norm.
Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW), an unconventional inclusion tied to online brokerage exposure, is the cleanest dividend story in the basket. Schwab raised its quarterly payout to $0.32 in early 2026 from $0.27, supported by $5.03 in trailing EPS and a 19% return on equity. That is a growing dividend with real coverage, but it is one stock inside a 25-plus holding portfolio.
The growth names dilute the yield by design
Take-Two Interactive and Roblox pay nothing. TTWO’s last dividend was a token $0.0001 in 2008, and RBLX has never paid one. Both prioritize content investment, with TTWO’s GTA VI launch tied to the FY27 outlook of $7.9-8.1 billion in revenue. These positions are in BJK for upside.
Total return is the only honest scorecard
A 3% yield means nothing if NAV is shrinking. BJK trades near $35, down 13% year-to-date, down roughly 10% over one year, and down 30% over five years. University of Michigan consumer sentiment fell to 49.8 in April, recessionary territory, which adds cyclical pressure to discretionary entertainment names. The ten-year return is positive at roughly 35%, but that long arc was built on the prior gaming-and-casino composition that no longer exists.
The verdict
BJK, now GENZ, is a thematic growth vehicle that happens to pay a distribution. Income is at best a secondary reason to own this fund. As John Seetoo wrote at 24/7 Wall St., the rebrand leaves "a few companies to bear the income load", and that concentration risk is real. Holders who bought BJK for yield should reset expectations: the distribution will likely shrink as the portfolio rotates further toward non-payers. Investors wanting durable equity income from gaming-adjacent exposure are better served looking at the underlying dividend growers directly, or at gaming REIT-heavy strategies that the prior BJK index used to capture.
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