Barstool Sports head of strategy establishes industry investment and consulting firm

Former Barstool Sports head of strategy and corporate development David VanEgmond has left the sports media outlet to start his own consultancy and investment vehicle, EGR has learned.

VanEgmond joined Barstool in July 2019 from FanDuel where he led the operator’s take over by Paddy Power Betfair, now Flutter Entertainment.

While at Barstool he spearheaded the $163m partial acquisition by Penn National Gaming (PNG), which saw PNG take a 36% stake in the media sports start-up and begin building an online Barstool sportsbook, due to launch in Q3 2020.

VanEgmond told EGR NA he wanted to capitalize on his experience of forging major industry deals and to help suppliers, sports leagues and media firms enter the betting industry.

His New Jersey-based business, Bettor Capital, will act as an investment vehicle through which VanEgmond can support innovative start-ups working within the betting supply chain.

“I felt for me personally there was a huge opportunity to do lots of different deals in the space and be a strategic advisor to founders and CEOs, helping them secure these bigger partnerships, whether that be as a technology supplier, license holder, or marketing services provider,” VanEgmond said.

“I’m looking to start fast, so hopefully by the end of this month I’ll have a number of consulting clients who I’m supporting to secure major deals ahead of sports returning, in addition to my investment portfolio which is growing.” he added.

One of VanEgmond’s first investments was in social betting platform Betsperts, which just completed its initial funding round.

“I’m trying to capitalize on my reputation for doing fair, constructive, mutually beneficial deals, plus I have the deep relationships throughout industry to make that happen,” VanEgmond said.

He will continue to act as a consultant for Barstool Sports or a period of time.