Barstool Sports fully acquired by casino owner for $388 million
NEW YORK -- Barstool Sports, which got its start in Milton 20 years ago, completed its $388 million sale to casino operator Penn Entertainment on Friday.
Swampscott native Dave Portnoy, who founded the sports and gambling outlet in 2003, established an exclusive sports betting and iCasino partnership with the entertainment company in early 2020 following Penn's acquisition of a 36% stake in the company for around $136 million. Their initial deal outlined a plan for Penn's eventual takeover of the company.
"We are extremely pleased to welcome Barstool Sports fully into the PENN Entertainment family," said PENN Entertainment CEO and President, Jay Snowden in a statement. "Barstool is a proven, powerful media brand with an authentic voice and vast, loyal audience that provides us with a strong top of funnel for new customer acquisition and organic cross-selling opportunities across our growing interactive division."
Penn owns Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville, which opened a Barstool-themed betting book last month for the start of legalized sports betting in Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission approved a temporary license for the sportsbook back in December, but not before raising questions about past comments made by Portnoy.
A self-professed "degenerate gambler," Portnoy has boasted of losing "mid 7 figures in my lifetime" on wagers in a 2018 blog post, and encouraging followers to bet "your house, kids and family" on the 2019 Kansas City Chiefs team that lost the Super Bowl. The commission insisted on a deeper investigation of Barstool's practices before they agree to make the license permanent.
Barstool Sports began as a free gambling and sports paper circulating around Massachusetts through word-of-mouth. Within the past two decades, the outlet has transformed into a media mogul consisting of an online blog and a variety of podcast and video shows like "The Pizza Review" and "Chicks with Ria and Fran." The outlet has also been the subject of a slew of online controversies, and has been accused of hosting racist and sexist coverage.
"Barstool Sports is bigger than ever and has become more than I ever dreamed of," Portnoy said in a statement. "I'm very thankful to the Barstool team and Stoolies who have been along for the ride. I'm looking forward to this next chapter with PENN."