Penn National Gaming files new trademarks ahead of rebranding
theScore and Barstool Sportsbook operator eyes increased “media and entertainment” presence following integration and migration changes
Penn National Gaming (PNG) has filed 15 separate trademark applications with the US Patent & Trademark office ahead of a potential pivot to becoming a “media and entertainment” led business.
News of the multiple applications broke on Twitter on Friday afternoon.
Penn National Gaming appears to be headed for a rebrand.
The company has filed 15 new trademark applications for PENN ENTERTAINMENT and PENN ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA. $PENN pic.twitter.com/NO9ZsbpnJH
— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) March 11, 2022
Of these, seven patent applications were in the name of Penn Entertainment & Media, with the remaining eight applications just in the sole name of Penn Entertainment.
Applications cover land-based casino services as well as restaurant, bar, café, and hotel services, reflecting PNG’s retail portfolio.
Other entertainment and media-based applications cover PNG’s software, content, and downloadable apps as well as the delivery of news, live scores, statistics, push notifications, and audio-visual content in the field of sports and esports.
While the precise reason for the applications has not been revealed, PNG has made no secret of its ambitions to transform into a “media and entertainment” company over the long term.
PNG has spent much of the last 12 months looking to achieve its twin goals of widening its customer acquisition “funnels” to include generation from media sites, while also transitioning to its own in-house proprietary technology platform.
This transition saw the group drop Kambi as its sportsbook technology supplier in October 2021.
Both of these ambitions were augmented by the $2bn deal to acquire theScore and by moves to acquire controlling ownership of the Barstool Sportsbook, as alluded to in PNG’s Q4 2021 results by CEO Jay Snowden.
“In early 2023, we look towards acquiring the remainder of Barstool Sports Inc., which will highly complement theScore’s strong media presence, sports brand, and loyal audience, accelerating our transformation into a major media and entertainment company,” Snowden told investors.
“Longer term, our leadership position in traditional gaming, digital and media will create material synergies and cross promotion benefits, and more importantly, provide us with numerous opportunities to be nimble in a rapidly evolving marketplace,” he added.
A significant testing ground for this will be the Ontario market, which is set to begin regulated sportsbook operations next month, with theScore having already secured a license to operate there.