Report: DraftKings and Barstool Sports close to multi-million-dollar media partnership
Reports claim that operator giant and media brand set to join forces five months after PENN Entertainment ditched Barstool for ESPN
DraftKings and Barstool Sports are in “advanced talks” regarding a sports betting media partnership.
As reported by sports business site Sportico, DraftKings and the Dave Portnoy-owned media brand are close to sealing a multi-year deal that will see Barstool pay “low eight figures per year”.
Under the remit of the proposed deal, Barstool will promote DraftKings odds and direct users to the sportsbook.
However, Barstool will not be lending its name or likeness to DraftKings to skin a sportsbook or betting app.
The partnership won’t be finalised until after the Super Bowl on February 11 owing to Barstool’s existing non-compete agreement with PENN Entertainment following the axing of the Barstool Sportsbook brand.
Barstool’s return to partnering with an operator comes five months after PENN secured a $1.5bn licensing deal with ESPN to launch ESPN Bet and bring an end to the Barstool Sportsbook.
As part of that deal, PENN sold Barstool back to Portnoy for $1, having initially paid $163m for a 36% stake in the brand in February 2020.
PENN proceeded to acquire the remaining 64% of the business in February 2022 for a further $338m.
As part of the conclusion of PENN and Barstool’s relationship, should Barstool be sold in the future, PENN would be entitled to 50% of the sale proceeds.
ESPN Bet launched in 17 states mid-November and, according to estimates from Eilers and Krejcik Gaming, has captured almost 8% of US online sports betting GGR share, according to an email alert sent yesterday, January 24.
That figure puts the brand in third place behind DraftKings and FanDuel.
Posting on X, formerly Twitter, Acies Investments co-founder Chris Grove praised the incoming partnership between DraftKings and Barstool.
He said: “It should be quite difficult for this to be a bad deal for DraftKings. High floor, moderate ceiling. It’s also hard for it to be a bad deal for Barstool insomuch that they have already had arguably among the best outcomes to date from regulated sports betting.
“It’s correct to view this (potential) deal as emblematic of the broader way in which Jason Robins and DraftKings (and Amy Howe and FanDuel) have consistently beat the legacy casino industry on both strategy and tactics, resulting in absolute domination of the US online gambling market.”