It’s clearly too early to know if PENN Entertainment’s decision to jettison the Barstool Sportsbook brand in favor of ESPN as its mobile sportsbook brand will work out. There will certainly be winners and losers in this decision, and the ramifications may not be known for years.
But according to numerous observers of the sportsbook industry space whom Sports Handle asked about the deal, there is one big winner in all this: Dave Portnoy, the founder — and once again 100% owner — of Barstool Sports.
“Portnoy is probably one of the 10 biggest individual winners post-PASPA,” said Chris Grove, the partner emeritus and strategic advisor at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, a gaming research company.
