Barstool sports totally bought by PENN Entertainment. It made the long-standing gambling and entertainment brand a part of the company that put money into it just three years ago.
PENN paid a reported $388 million for the rest of Barstool. It previously controlled 36% of the shares following a buyout in 2020. Barstool’s key executives and the Barstool brand’s roster of content creators will continue to create content for the company.
Barstool Sportsbook, operated by PENN Entertainment, is available for retail Massachusetts sports betting at PENN-owned Plainridge Park Casino. Its online platform will be launched in the state on March 10.
Will Something Change in Massachusetts?
The sale of Barstool to PENN Entertainment will not change Massachusetts sports bettors’ access to the Barstool Sportsbook betting app. Plainridge Park Casino’s retail sportsbook will also not be affected.
PENN promises the sports betting app will be better, though.
“Barstool Sportsbook will greatly benefit from the upcoming migration of our proprietary technology stack, a move that will further enhance the overall product offering and provide meaningful upside,” it said. Jay SnowdenPENN Entertainment CEO, on Friday through a press release.
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How the Barstool Has Evolved in 20 Years
founder Dave Portnoy launched Barstool as more of a gambling and sports newsletter in 2003 in Milton, Massachusetts. The company has grown to include social media channels, websites, and podcasts, as well as video and radio programming. Portnoy has become a popular and sometimes controversial face of the brand. His brash style is popular with his followers, called “Stoolies,” and he calls himself “The Prez” on social media.
Since its entry as a major stockholder in Barstool, PENN has leveraged the popular Barstool brand for its gaming offerings, capitalizing on the success Barstool has had with the young 20- and 30-year-old demographic. .
The company launched a Barstool-branded mobile sportsbook in 15 states (16 as of March 10). It also has retail sportsbooks under the same name in several states, including Massachusetts.
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According to PENN, since 2020, Barstool has grown its total audience by 194% and recorded a total of 1.6 billion podcast downloads. It has also streamed over 800,000 videos for over 128 billion views. Barstool also reportedly sold over 5 million pieces of merchandise from its clothing and accessories line in 2022.
Barstool is not afraid to enter new markets and innovate their products. In 2022, the brand turned to live event programming. It produces and broadcasts a Division I college basketball tournament, the Barstool Sports Invitational. Also last year, the company debuted TwoYay. That’s the Name Image Likeness (NIL) marketplace that allows college athletes to partner with brands and advertising agencies.
How Worth a Barstool?
Its proven track record with a younger niche audience that likes to watch and consume content about sports makes Barstool a lucrative asset for PENN.
“Barstool is a proven, powerful media brand with an authentic voice and a large, loyal audience that gives us a strong top of the funnel for new customer acquisition and organic cross-selling opportunities across our growing interactive division,” Snowden said in a press release announcing the acquisition on February 17.
While most of Barstool’s content is sports-related, and the Barstool Sportsbook has been given a focus by PENN in recent years, the company is also a popular lifestyle brand. Many Barstool hosts, including Portnoy himself, create content around food, clothing, music, movies, and more under the brand. The company claims to reach “over 200M fans across social and is growing fast.”
“Barstool Sports is bigger than ever and has become more than I ever dreamed,” Portnoy said in the release.
Portnoy will continue to work for Barstool after the sale of the company he founded.
In recent years, Portnoy has been at the center of many controversies. He was accused of sexual misconduct by at least three women in 2021, although charges were never filed. He was investigated by the National Labor Relations Board in 2019 when he allegedly threatened to fire his employees if they unionized.
Portnoy eventually settled with the NLRB. He was arrested at NFL headquarters in 2015 when he handcuffed himself in the office to protest the Deflategate scandal.
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