Barstool scores sports betting partnership with DraftKings

Under the agreement, DraftKings is now the official sports betting partner of Barstool. David Portnoy, the founder of Barstool, confirmed the news in a blog post shortly after Super Bowl LVIII ended last night (11 February).

The deal marks the second time that the two parties will be working together. DraftKings and Barstool were previously partnered on a marketing collaboration 10 years ago. 

“I’m proud to announce Barstool has signed a multi-year monster deal with DraftKings,” Portnoy said. “We’re back to our roots. DraftKings is once again the exclusive sports betting partner of Barstool Sports. The more things change the more they stay the same.”

DraftKings is yet to comment on the announcement. 

Barstool back with Portnoy

The deal comes just a few months after Portnoy took back the Barstool brand from Penn Entertainment. Penn purchased the brand in 2020 and was running sportsbooks under the Barstool name.

This came to an end last August when Penn entered partnership with ESPN. This marked the entrance of Disney-owned ESPN into sports betting after years of speculation. However, it also ultimately meant the end for the Penn-Barstool deal. 

Penn agreed to sell the Barstool brand back to Portnoy for $1 “in exchange for certain non-compete and other restrictive covenants”. Portnoy is now once again the owner of the brand he launched back in 2023.

Incidentally, Penn’s existing Barstool sportsbooks relaunched under the new ESPN Bet brand on 14 November.

In other recent news from Barstool, Erika Ayers Badan announced that she is stepping down as its CEO after almost eight years. She confirmed the news in a blog last month but did not state whether Barstool has a replacement lined up.

Ayers Badan joined Barstool as CEO in July 2016. She previously held senior positions with Bkstg, AOL, Demand Media and Yahoo.