Penn National Gaming recently purchased a stake in the online media sports site Barstool Sports.  The purchase will make Penn the new official gaming partner for the next forty years. According to CNN, Penn purchased a thirty six percent stake in Barstool worth 163 million dollars.  The report states that the company will increase their stake in the company in the next three years. Penn National Gaming operates dozens of casinos and racetracks around the country so their presence in the gambling business is already quite substantial.  The Supreme Court in 2018 struck down the longtime ban on sports betting so the purchase overall makes sense and is not totally unexpected. Many companies in the industry are now beginning to expand their operations as sports betting is projected to hugely increase in its exposure nationwide.  

Barstool Sports in recent years has become a juggernaut in the sports media industry, becoming one of the dominant forces in the online community with their blog posts.  In their article covering the purchase by Penn, CNN made a great point that the purchase will begin to blur the line between sports media companies and the sports betting industry.  I found this article in particular to be interesting as I’ve witnessed over the past few years Barstool’s rise from an unknown blog site to one of the biggest media companies in the sports industry; specifically in its appeal to the younger demographic.  I also found it incredibly interesting that Penn will be Barstool’s official betting partner for the next forty years. This substantial amount of time, which I’m sure was done solely for legal purposes, shows that Penn sees tremendous value in Barstool as a brand because of this huge commitment. 

https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/29/media/barstool-penn-national-gaming/index.html