Dave Portnoy, now 100% owner of Barstool Sports after former parent Penn Entertainment sold it back to him — concurrent with Penn’s major 10-year sports-betting deal with ESPN — has admitted that Barstool isn’t a good fit in the gambling industry.
“[W]e underestimated just how tough it is for myself and Barstool to operate in a regulated world, where gambling regulators, the New York Times [and] Business Insider hit pieces, fucking with the stock price every time did something,” Portnoy said in an “emergency press conference” video posted on X (aka Twitter) Tuesday.
“We got denied [gambling] licenses because of me, you name it,” Portnoy said. “So the regulated industry [is] probably not the best place for Barstool Sports and the type of content we make.”
