{"id":249786,"date":"2022-12-27T07:01:33","date_gmt":"2022-12-27T13:01:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=249786"},"modified":"2022-12-27T12:33:19","modified_gmt":"2022-12-27T18:33:19","slug":"why-barstools-troubles-might-impact-espns-sports-betting-decision-opinion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/why-barstools-troubles-might-impact-espns-sports-betting-decision-opinion\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Barstool’s Troubles Might Impact ESPN’s Sports Betting Decision – Opinion"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you think that ESPN<\/em> should pursue a sportsbook, then you might want to watch a Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) meeting from last week.<\/p>\n

\"ESPN_GameDay\"<\/a>
From left, Desmond Howard, Rece Davis, Pat McAfee, Lee Corso, and Kirk Herbstreit sit on the ESPN College GameDay<\/em>\u00a0stage set up at the University of Tennessee before the Tennessee-Florida game in September. (Image: ESPN<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For hours last Tuesday, MGC members questioned Penn Entertainment President and CEO Jay Snowden about Barstool Sports. Penn will wholly own it by February, when it closes on acquiring the remaining 64% of shares of the headline-making sports and pop culture media site. Two years ago, Penn bought a minority stake in the company and chose to use the brand for its sports betting operations.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a link<\/a> to the meeting. The part with Snowden starts roughly halfway through the six-hour-plus meeting.<\/p>\n

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Snowden was asked about Barstool founder Dave Portnoy, who has been the subject of critical articles published by Business Insider<\/em> and The New York Times<\/em>. He was grilled about Dan Katz, aka Barstool Big Cat. It wasn\u2019t just their connection to the company or their involvement in sports betting. Commissioner Eileen O\u2019Brien questioned some of the content Barstool produces and believes the site would be a drag on Penn\u2019s suitability because of \u201ccharacter\u201d and \u201cintegrity\u201d concerns.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Those concerns stem because commissioners see Barstool Sports, the media company, as the marketing division of Penn that promotes Barstool Sportsbook.<\/p>\n

Barstool to be Investigated in Massachusetts<\/h2>\n

There were also questions about the pending fine Penn faces in Ohio due to Barstool Sports promoting the sportsbook. That occurred during a November broadcast of its College Football Show<\/em>\u00a0that took place at the University of Toledo. The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) found that the show violated several regulations, including promoting sports betting to individuals under 21. Those individuals cannot bet legally on sports in the state.<\/p>\n

Barstool faces a $250K fine<\/a> for that. Snowden told the Massachusetts officials that the show was a \u201cmistake,\u201d and that Penn would not allow anyone under 21 to attend a future live Barstool College Football Show broadcast.<\/p>\n

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When we know about these things, when we make these mistakes on our own, we self-report,\u201d<\/strong> Snowden said. \u201cAnd I think in this case, we didn’t realize we made some mistakes, which is why it was brought to our attention. And we’ll pay the fine, and we’ll move on.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In the end, Penn received only a temporary retail license for its Plainridge Park facility. One of the conditions for the license is that Penn fully cooperates with an investigation into Barstool Sports by the commission\u2019s Investigations and Enforcement Bureau. The study will determine if Barstool meets suitability requirements for full licensure.<\/p>\n

The hearing for Penn and Barstool’s online application will be heard in early January.<\/p>\n

Why It May Matter to ESPN<\/em><\/h2>\n

So, how do Barstool\u2019s woes potentially affect ESPN<\/a><\/em>?<\/p>\n

Well, it\u2019s not on the content side. The Disney-owned sports media empire is downright vanilla when compared to Barstool. ESPN\u2019s<\/em> edgiest commentator would be the tamest on Barstool, and when someone at ESPN<\/em> says something controversial, either on or off the air, it usually leads to their eventual departure.<\/p>\n

No, ESPN\u2019s<\/em> biggest issue is its underage audience.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like Barstool, ESPN<\/em> hosts a weekly college football preview show, and each week ESPN\u2019s<\/em> College GameDay <\/em>travels to the site of one of the biggest games taking place that week. In most instances, that means GameDay<\/em> is broadcasting from or near a college campus. And that means it\u2019s attracting a lot of college students for their audience, many of whom are likely to need fake IDs to get into bars.<\/p>\n

GameDay<\/em>\u00a0also attracts families for its live audience, as evidenced in the tweet below.<\/p>\n

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A little poetry for your Saturday morning pic.twitter.com\/ns9sYLayYm<\/a><\/p>\n

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) October 16, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n