Three approaches to gambling media

Sports betting and gambling companies have been among the most aggressive players in brand publishing in the past year. While their reasons for investing in media might be similar, however, different gambling companies are taking very different approaches: Some are opting to buy existing properties while others are partnering or building in-house. Casino operator Penn Entertainment (formerly known as Penn National Gaming) exercised its right last week to buy all of sports media company Barstool Sports. In January 2020 Penn shelled out $163 million to take a stake in Barstool with the understanding that it planned to own it outright by 2023. Penn also bought Score Media in October 2021, in an effort to turn the media and gaming company into a marketing vehicle for its business in Canada.