Get Ready for Barstool Sportsbook as Penn National Gaming Partners With Portnoy

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This. Is. Massive.

Early Wednesday morning, Penn National Gaming and Barstool Sports agreed to a massive partnership and acquisition joining two of the most powerful brands in the United States. In the quickly growing legal sports betting industry in the US, this is a monumental partnership that combines one of the largest casino companies in the world (Penn National Gaming) with arguably the most influential media brands in Barstool Sports. User acquisition is the name of the game, and Penn National has made it clear that is why it has invested in, and partnered with, Barstool Sports.

 

A Groundbreaking Partnership

Penn National Gaming acquired a massive 36% stake in Barstool Sports for $163M in cash and stock. This agreement makes Penn National Gaming Barstool’s exclusive partner in the gaming space for up to 40 years, and it gives Penn National Gaming exclusive rights to Barstool’s incredibly popular brand. Penn National will use this brand for online and retail sports betting and casino options. This deal also allows Penn National to up its ownership stake to 50% with another funding round, and take full ownership if it chooses to (for more money, of course!)

Penn National Gaming’s CEO Jay Snowden is excited about the partnership, exclaiming:

“With its leading digital content, well-known brand and deep roots in sports betting, Barstool Sports is the ideal partner for Penn National and will enable us to attract a new, younger demographic, which will nicely complement our existing customer database”

It’s all about user acquisition, and Penn National just tapped into one of the most loyal demographics in media. The partnership has a goal of creating a monster of betting, gaming, and media empire.

 

Barstool Sports Valued at $450M

This is the big number here. With this acquisition, Barstool Sports has been valued at $450M, much larger than the $10M valuation it had a few years ago when Chernin Group invested and purchased a large stake in the company. The current ownership is as follows:

• Penn National Gaming – 36%
• Chernin Group – 36%
• Barstool Employees – 28% – David Portnoy, CEO Erika Nardini and more

By far the most popular asset for Barstool is the vast number of people in the sports betting and gambling demographic. “Stoolies” as they are called are fans of Barstool, and have been dubbed a rabid audience of young males that are loyal followers. It is why Barstool Sports made close to $100M in revenue in 2019, from podcasts, merchandise, and of sports gambling deals with FanDuel, PointsBet, DraftKings and other brands.

 

Barstool Sportsbook or Casino A Possibility?

In this “press conference” from Barstool’s Dave Portnoy, he mentions “Casinos, bars, pizza places, you name it, we are gonna build it”. This means the very popular Barstool Brand will be spread across casinos, bars, and the like across the country under the Penn National umbrella. Portnoy also mentions “on premise and off premise”. Could we see a Barstool branded sportsbook?

No matter the direction taken from this partnership, expect to see a lot of the Barstool Sports brand in the sports betting space.

 

Penn National Gaming is a Publicly Traded Company

As you may be aware, Penn National Gaming, Inc is a publicly traded company. Already as of Wednesday morning, Dave Portnoy is calling the 10% rise in stock price the “Barstool Bump” in this tweet.

In the “press conference” video, Portnoy mentions that until now it was only the Chernin Group to be “invested” in Barstool, and with this partnership and acquisition, it allows the public to essentially become stockholders in Barstool Sports, via Penn National Gaming. Penn National has been searching for a media partner, and they found one of the largest out there with Barstool Sports. Add this to their 41 properties in 19 states, along with mobile sports betting in Indiana, Iowa, Nevada, and Pennsylvania and this has been a massive move for Penn National Gaming, Inc.