Penn National is a major gaming company based in the United States that has several land-based casino operations as well as online gaming sites. The brand is working on a mini casino in Pennsylvania and have now set their sights on even more online casino action after a new brand was acquired. Penn National now has a 36% stake in Barstool Sports, which will allow them to use the brand to create a new online casino outlet.
New0 Deal
Penn National announced this week that they now have 36% share in Barstool, at a cost of $163 million. The price was paid in cash and stock. A recent investor call saw officials of Penn National state that Barstool would become the company’s primary brand for their sports betting offering. It would also be part of their online casino launch.
Jon Kaplowitz, the Head of Penn Interactive, spoke with investors stating that the company has plans to offer multiple online casino brands with Barstool included. They will be offering several brands in order to reach out to various demographics of players. With varying options, all types of players can be reached instead of a few choice groups.
According to Kaplowitz, the Barstool Casino would focus more on table games and poker. When you look at Hollywood Casino that is live online in Pennsylvania, that site focuses more on slot games. Kaplowitz pointed out that successful online gaming companies located in Europe offer several different options and he feels it will be the same for Penn National.
Right now, Penn National is working with 50 developers and engineers for their products in Pennsylvania. For player account management, the company is working with White Hat Gaming. For sports technology needs, the brand is working with Kambi.
The investor call indicated that a new betting app with the Bartstool Brand should be ready by this August.
Details of the Agreement
The deal between Penn National and Barstool Sports will provide Penn with sole rights to the Barstool brand for online and retail sports betting as well as online casino gaming. Penn National will be their exclusive gaming partner for up to a 40 year time frame.
Within three years, Penn National will see their ownership stake increase to 50%. They will then take over full ownership if they so choose. For the transaction, Barstool has been valued at around $450 million.
Barstool Sports is excited to be working with such a large gaming brand as Penn National. Barstool CEO Erika Nardini commented on the new agreement stating that the chance to combine their content and fans with Penn’s massive footprint and to develop an omni-channel approach together was a no-brainer.
It will be interesting to see how Penn National uses the Barstool Sports brand in the future. We look forward to any online casino or sports betting site that will add value to the online gaming market as it continues to grow and expand across the United States.
