Dave Portnoy Buys Barstool Sports Back From Penn National Gaming
Another shake-up in the online betting and casino world came today when Dave Portnoy re-purchased Barstool Sports from Penn National Gaming. Portnoy, the founder of Barstool, announced so today in an “emergency press conference” video he posted on twitter.
“Penn Entertainment and Barstool Sports have gone our separate ways,” Portnoy says in his video. “As of this moment, while you are watching this video, I have purchased back Barstool Sports from Penn. So that is right, for the first time in a decade, I own 100% of Barstool Sports.”
Portnoy goes on later to say that it happened because the two parties “underestimated just how tough it is for myself [Dave Portnoy] and Barstool to operate in a regulated world.”
A press release made by Penn National Gaming lent more insight on the deal between the two parties, reading: "PENN sold 100 percent of the Barstool Sports, Inc. ('Barstool') common stock to David Portnoy in exchange for certain non-compete and other restrictive covenants…PENN also has the right to receive 50 percent of the gross proceeds received by David Portnoy in any subsequent sale or other monetization event of Barstool."
Penn National Gaming seemed uncomfortable working with a company as scandalous as Barstool Sports, and that couldn’t have been made more clear when they announced their new partner, ESPN.
ESPN cut a $2 billion dollar deal with Penn, and will roll out a brand new online sportsbook, ESPN bet, in the 16 states that Penn already has their gaming license in. ESPN bet will replace the previously founded Barstool Sportsbook.
“This transformative, exclusive agreement with ESPN marks another major milestone in PENN’s evolution from a pure-play U.S. regional gaming operator to a North American entertainment leader,” Jay Snowden, Penn’s CEO, added. “ESPN Bet will be deeply integrated with ESPN’s broad editorial, content, digital and linear product, and sports programming ecosystem. ESPN Bet will also benefit from PENN’s operational experience, extensive market access and proprietary technology platform, which successfully debuted in the U.S. this July.
