Migration background
Penn first acquired a 36% stake in Barstool Sports in 2020, before agreeing to exercise call rights to acquire the remaining shares in the business in 2022.
Throughout that time and until now, the brand had been powered by third-party software from sportsbook supplier Kambi.
Penn has long planned to migrate the Barstool Sportsbook brand away from Kambi and onto its own tech stack, which it acquired as part of its $2bn acquisition of Canada-based theScore in 2021.
TheScore Bet – which had previously been powered by another third-party supplier in Bet.Works – first made the migration onto the proprietary tech platform in July 2022, with Barstool set to follow suit this year.
Improved operations
The migration has now been completed across all 16 US states where Barstool Sportsbook currently operates.
Penn said “the platform deployment and product upgrade completes Penn’s long-term strategic objective to achieve technology independence.”
The new tech stack improves platform stability and is designed to be easily scalable to expand into new markets and meet evolving regulatory requirements, it added.
“Deploying our technology infrastructure puts our experienced in-house team, who built the platform from the ground up, in full control of the end-to-end customer journey and all product development.”
In order to complete the migration, Penn had to pay additional one-time fees to Kambi, including a $12.5m early termination fee and a further $15m for transition services.
Despite the extra costs, Penn insisted the migration would “significantly enhance” its product offering.
Management commentary
“Migrating onto our proprietary technology platform and introducing a fully upgraded Barstool Sportsbook is a milestone achievement,” said Jay Snowden, president and CEO of Penn Entertainment.
“Having full control of our product and roadmap will lead to improved operational efficiency and the ability to quickly introduce new features, bespoke promotions and wagering markets.
“I want to congratulate our Interactive team members who worked tirelessly to ensure a successful on schedule migration, which better positions us to compete in the online gaming space,” Snowden concluded.
Benjie Levy, head of Penn Interactive and president and COO of theScore, added: “A technology migration of this scale requires an enormous amount of coordination and planning, and I’m extremely proud of our Interactive team who stepped up to the challenge to execute this complex project on time and with minimal disruption to customers.
“Deploying our technology infrastructure puts our experienced in-house team, who built the platform from the ground up, in full control of the end-to-end customer journey and all product development.
“With this proven technology powering a significantly enhanced Barstool Sportsbook, we are primed to deliver a world class online sportsbook and casino experience to customers in the US.”
