Barstool Sports' Next Destination - Maryland
Penn National Gaming on Tuesday paved the way for Barstool Sports to set up shop in the state of Maryland with an announcement that it has entered into an agreement with Gaming and Leisure Properties for control of Hollywood Casino Perryville. The takeover is said to be worth $31.1 million.
“Penn National [which has a 36% interest in Barstool Sports] is excited to acquire the operations of Hollywood Casino Perryville, a property we developed in 2010, which will allow us to re-enter the strong Maryland gaming market and add a twentieth gaming jurisdiction to our leading nationwide footprint,” said Jay Snowden, Penn National’s president and CEO.
Maryland's legal sports betting platform hasn't gone live yet and regulations on a sports betting platform haven't been drawn. The legislative process has just begun, meaning that Barstool and Penn National appear to be jumping the gun on their move into a potentially lucrative Maryland scene.
Betting is not new for the state of Maryland however. Wagers on horse racing are allowed at all three of the state's racetracks and there are six casinos operating in the state.
Maryland
As mentioned, Maryland has yet to launch its legal sports betting platform but the state did gain permission from voters on November 3 to pursue the next step toward legalization. Question Two on the Maryland election ballot passed with 68.8% approval and has bipartisan support in both houses of the Maryland state legislature.
The Maryland sports betting scene is expected to bring in between $20-$40 million in tax revenue for the state, all of which will be used to bolster the state's K-12 education systems. An end-of-summer launch, in time for the start of the 2021 NFL season is the goal.
“With the recent approval of sports betting through the overwhelming passage of Question 2 on Election Day, Maryland is expected to soon become a significant retail and mobile sports betting market,” said Jay Snowden.
The two DFS giants in the US were first to make their presence felt in the state of Maryland but Penn National and Barstool are the first to make a real move toward serious viability in the yet-to-be-launched platform.
Barstool
Barstool Sports hopes to move quickly with regard to their expansion plans across the US. Already live in Pennsylvania, the Barstool sports app is eyeing Indiana, Michigan, New York and New Jersey. Eventually, Penn National, who partnered with Barstool earlier this year, hopes to have the Barstool brand in all of its 41 properties in 19 states.
“This acquisition provides another opportunity to expand our unique omni-channel platform with a Barstool-branded retail sportsbook and mobile app,” said Penn CEO Jay Snowden.
Barstool in Pennsylvania has been a success, leading to the desire to quickly expand. Jay Snowden said in the company's third-quarter earnings report back in October that "nearly 48,000 people have registered through the app in Pennsylvania alone and, over the course of the first 37 days of operation, the app generated total handle of $78 million across 30,000 first-time depositors," as of Oct. 24.
Making Good on Aggressive Expansion Plans
Barstool sports is already a massive name in the media world and is ready to parlay that exposure into the legal gambling space. It boasts 66 million dedicated viewers as well as 8.8 million Instagram followers, almost 5 million on Facebook, and 2.5 million on Twitter nationally. The time now for their rapid expansion plans.
Expect to see the Barstool sports app in Michigan in January, as well as Indiana and Colorado early in 2021, and for Barstool to become an instant factor in the state of Maryland the second their legal mobile sports betting platform goes live sometime in mid-2021.
