WYOMISSING, Pa., July 26, 2023 – Penn Entertainment announced today the successful migration of its Barstool Sportsbook & Casino brand onto its proprietary online gaming technology platform. This significant milestone marks the culmination of a plan set in motion with the acquisition of a 36% stake in Barstool Sports in 2020 and brings all elements of the company’s online gaming operation in-house.
Transition Background
The transition journey began when Penn first acquired a minority stake in Barstool Sports in 2020. In the following year, Penn decided to exercise its call rights to acquire the remaining shares in the business. Prior to the migration, the Barstool brand had been powered by third-party software from sportsbook supplier Kambi.
However, in line with Penn’s strategy for technology independence, the decision was made to transition Barstool Sportsbook away from Kambi’s platform and onto Penn’s own tech stack. This technology had been acquired as part of Penn’s $2 billion acquisition of Canada-based theScore in 2021.
Achieving Technological Independence
The migration marks a significant step towards achieving Penn’s long-term strategic objective of technology independence. “Deploying our technology infrastructure puts our experienced in-house team, who built the platform from the ground up, in full control of the end-to-end customer journey and all product development,” said Benjie Levy, Head of Penn Interactive.
The new tech stack not only improves platform stability but is also designed to be easily scalable, allowing the company to quickly expand into new markets and adapt to evolving regulatory requirements.
Improvements and Enhancements
The migration to the new technology platform comes with a host of enhancements to the Barstool Sportsbook product offering. Users will experience streamlined navigation and search, more betting markets, increased personalisation capabilities, faster loading, deposit and withdrawal times, and deeper integrations with theScore media app.
Management Commentary
Jay Snowden, President and CEO of Penn Entertainment, hailed the migration as a milestone achievement. He said, “Having full control of our product and roadmap will lead to improved operational efficiency and the ability to quickly introduce new features, bespoke promotions and wagering markets.”
Despite the additional one-time fees to Kambi, including a $12.5 million early termination fee and a further $15 million for transition services, Penn maintains that the migration will “significantly enhance” its product offering.
About Penn Entertainment
Penn Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq: PENN) is North America’s leading provider of integrated entertainment, sports content and casino gaming experiences. As of July 26, 2023, Penn Entertainment, Inc. is trading at $25.53, up by 0.12%.
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