A hearing held by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission has never attracted so much attention. This week, regulators granted a temporary license to Plainridge Park Casino for in-person sports betting, but not without scrutinizing its connection to Barstool Sports and its controversial founder, Dave Portnoy.
PENN Entertainment, which owns and operates Plainridge Park, bought a 36 percent stake in Barstool nearly three years ago — valuing the company at a whopping $450 million. In February, PENN is expected to take full control of Barstool as part of a $387 million deal. Overall, PENN will have paid approximately $550 million for the Barstool brand.
The reasoning for PENN's purchase was on full display at Monday's hearing. In an attempt to compete with sports betting behemoths such as DraftKings and FanDuel, PENN, an aging casino company, is aggressively promoting its affiliation with Barstool to reach the most coveted demographic out there: men 25-54.
So far, it's been working. PENN's Barstool-branded sports books operate in 13 states, and Massachusetts is next.
But Massachusetts regulators are taking a deep look at PENN's connection with Barstool, and that's creating some problems, says sports legal expert Daniel Wallach.
"The reason why the gaming industry is so closely and tightly regulated is that way back when, in the 40s, 50s and 60s, who infiltrated the gambling industry? It was organized crime," Wallach said this week on my Sports Media Mayhem podcast. "Over the last 50-60 years, states and regulatory bodies within those states have crafted guidelines to ensure that not only is the legal gambling industry free of any criminal influences, but only that companies and the people of the highest integrity can be licensed."
Therein lies the question: is Barstool Sports of the highest integrity?
PENN argues that Portnoy's polarizing history shouldn't be subject to regulatory review, since he's not involved in running the betting platform. So far, 12 of 13 states have agreed. The other, Pennsylvania, granted a gambling license to Portnoy.
During this week's hearing, three of the five regulators took an adversarial stance towards Barstool, bringing up its history of offensive and misogynistic content, and Portnoy's cavalier promotion of sports betting. He's urged fans to bet their "house, kids, family" on single games, and boasts that he typically wagers $25,000 a bet.
Earlier this month, Ohio's Casino Control Commission fined Barstool for actively promoting sports gambling to college students.
"When we talk about Mr. Portnoy putting out all this money or losing, some of the comments he's made in the past fly in the face of responsible gaming," said commissioner Brad Hill.
PENN argues that Portnoy's comments are sarcastic, and all part of the joke. Whether Plainridge Park receives a full sports betting license, which lasts five years, will hinge on whether five regulators agree.
"[Barstool] is known for pushing the envelope, for its irreverence and for its cutting edge humor, which can be interpreted in two ways," said Wallach. "Some might think it's not the most responsible way for promoting gambling. Others may think it's tongue-in-cheek and simply irreverent. There's also the allegations of misogyny, the sexual allegations. All of that is going to come into play."
Regulators decided to grant a one-year temporary license to Plainridge Park, provided it cooperates with their investigation into Barstool.
PENN made a calculation when it bought Barstool that the rewards of its affiliation will outweigh the negatives.
But Massachusetts officials are putting that to the test.
"I think this is going to be very painful for PENN National and Barstool," said Wallach. "Ultimately, I believe the Barstool-branded sports book will be part of the ecosystem in Massachusetts, but I offer no guarantees."
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What is the point of Twitter nowadays?: I also spoke with Comeback Media editorial director Sean Keeley on my podcast this week about the chaotic state of Twitter under Elon Musk's erratic stewardship. Recently, tech journalists who cover Musk critically were temporarily banned from the platform, and short-lived rules were made against promoting links to pages on outside social media companies.
Last month, Keeley wrote an article titled, "What happens to sports media if Twitter dies?"
The answer? We'll move onto something else.
"If you work in sports media long enough, especially in the digital age, we've already seen enough things come and go that seemed essential at the time, like Twitter does for a lot of us. But eventually, it won't," he said.
While that's true, it will be hard to replicate Twitter's immediacy and networking potential. Twitter remains a great way to see which topics are trending, and connect with other journalists. In other words, the media class would likely miss Twitter a lot more than the general public, which makes sense, since regular people are hardly on Twitter, anyway.
Giovani Bernard and the power of being human: Buccaneers running back Giovani Bernard wasn't pleased Sunday when media members approached him post-game to ask about what happened when he dropped the snap on a fake punt attempt. ESPN reporter Jenna Laine posted video of the incident, and was criticized for her pursuit of a player who didn't want to talk.
On Wednesday, Laine posted a lengthy explanation on Twitter, and said she spoke with Bernard.
Both sides have points here. It's understandable that Bernard didn't want to discuss his blunder, and as a running back, is under no obligation to speak with the press after games. But reporters have a duty to ask players about crucial moments in the game, good and bad.
For roughly two years, Covid restrictions greatly curtailed locker room access, making the reporter-player dynamic far more transactional. The two sides' only real exposure to one another came during press conferences, which is hardly an intimate atmosphere.
It's time for a reset. Laine says she spoke to Bernard and they've settled their differences. Sometimes it just takes a little communication.
What was Willie McGinest thinking?: Willie McGinest is proclaiming his innocence after video emerged of him pummeling a man at a West Hollywood nightclub. The three-time Super Bowl champion posted on Instagram that "things aren't always how they seem at first glance."
He has a lot of explaining to do …
