Barstool Sports Could Return to Betting Scene with DraftKings Deal
Kate Marshal
26 January 2024
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Pictured: Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports
Barstool Sports is back in business, after taking a break for six months since Penn Entertainment sold the company and teamed up with ESPN to create ESPN Bet.
Sportico reports that Barstool Sports is close to signing a marketing deal with DraftKings, where Barstool will promote the partner’s odds and get a cut from getting new customers.
The deal is expected to be official after the Super Bowl in February, because Barstool has a deal with Penn that says the sportsbook has to split 50% of the revenue if it starts working again within six months of the sale.
In 2020, Penn Entertainment paid $588 million to buy Barstool Sports and then sold it back to founder Dave Portnoy for a buck. Last fall, the Barstool brand was used to launch the new sportsbook ESPN Bet.
It might seem weird that Barstool’s non-compete agreement with Penn only lasts for six months, but it makes sense when you think about how Penn sold the company back to Portnoy for just $1, even though they paid over $550 million for it. It will be interesting to see how much DraftKings will show up in its app because of the deal and whether it will end up showing any Barstool content on the DraftKings platform.
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