Much-Anticipated Barstool Sports App on Track for September

Penn National‘s Barstool Sportsbook app is still a work in progress and looks like their hopeful August launch date will be pushed back just a little. Launch looks like it will have to wait until September despite the fact that it could seriously help with Penn National’s reported massive coronavirus Q2 losses. As it stands, Pennsylvania has been identified as the jumping-off point for the much-anticipated app with other states to follow in the first quarter of 2021.

“Over the last few months, we have made significant progress on the development of the Barstool Sportsbook mobile app and remain on schedule to launch what we believe will be a best-in-class sports betting product in September,” Jay Snowden, president and CEO of Penn National said. “We currently anticipate launching the app in Pennsylvania with additional states to follow throughout Q4-20 and Q1-21.”

Penn National, which in late January acquired a 36% interest in the sports media platform for $163 million could use the cash infusion that is certain to follow the launch of the Barstool app. Last week, Penn reported a loss of $79.3 million in adjusted EBITDA and a 76% drop in revenues year-over-year to just $305.5 million (that number actually beat forecasts for the company). For comparison stake, Penn National reported $1.12 billion in revenues for Q1 and $1.3 billion over the same period last year.

Good Times Ahead

Penn National has had a predictably tough time the last few months thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic's shuttering of all casinos and the virtual stop of all major sports around the globe. Good times are ahead for the global service provider however - nearly all of the 40 properties in 19 states have reopened and Barstool Sports immense influence in the legal gambling space is about to be realized.

It is that launch of the Barstool Sports app that has Penn National looking forward to a strong Q3 and beyond. Barstool Sports will add a strong, unique and dedicated media branch that boasts some incredibly popular sports-betting stories, videos, and TV shows to the sportsbook company. Barstool also brings with it a whopping 66 million dedicated viewers, of which Penn National is conservatively hoping to convert 25% of.

“We have already seen very high levels of interest in the Barstool Sportsbook app from the Barstool audience as well as on a wide range of social media platforms, and we are extremely excited about Barstool’s plans to introduce the app to their growing and loyal audience,” Jay Snowden, president and CEO of Penn National said.

Taking Their Time

Penn National is being deliberate, to say the least, with their rollout of the Barstool Sports app. It looks as though the company is searching for maximum impact for the launch of their exciting new toy, rather than lumping it all in with the rest, during a time if limited sports betting.

“What’s more important? Rushing it and getting to some MLB and NBA games in August? Or doing this right, launching it in September when we know it will deliver a great experience, [user interface, user experience] for the end-user?” Jay Snowden said. “We’re in this for the long game.”

There is a realization among Penn National brass that there is a serious uptick in the gaming industry happening now, as the 60% increase in traffic from a year ago, but the NFL season looks to be the company's obvious and desired jumping-off-point.

It's Pennsylvania... Then

Pennsylvania will get the honor of being the first state with the Barstool Sports app., where Penn National already has a strong and established casino presence. It doesn't hurt that Pennsylvania is also frequently tied to the "top 3" states in terms of monthly handles in the US.

While there have been no definitive plans as to where Barstool Sports will go live after Pennsylvania, Jay Snowden wasn't shy about his desire to have a presence in Michigan, where the market is in its relative infancy but has been recognized as a potential major juggernaut. New Jersey, also in that elite category should quickly follow as Penn National has strong support in that state as well.