Barstool Sports is poised to transition from media company to a major sports betting company on the heels of a $163 million investment from Penn National Gaming.
The investment marks a turn in the sports betting industry as legalization looms in many states, Axios reports. Partnerships between publishers and online sportsbooks are starting to pop up as sports betting is incorporated into media coverage through affiliate deals. Publishers are essentially earning commissions when they drive users to place bets with their partners.
Penn’s investment into Barstool Sports will funnel the company’s 66 million monthly users directly to their books.
While the practice is still outlawed in Louisiana after legislators last year couldn’t agree on how to move the issue forward, entangling it with questions over the right tax structure and the separate issue of online fantasy sports, more than half the states are expected to legalize sports betting by the end of the year. In states like California, New York and Florida, those legislative stakes are huge. Nearly $7 million is expected to be bet on this weekend’s Super Bowl alone.
Meanwhile, established fantasy sports sites like DraftKings and FanDuel are now facing competition from new startups ready to grow this year.
Read the full story here, and catch up on Louisiana’s sports gambling legislation here.
