Barstool Sportsbook to integrate into Penn National loyalty program
Members will be able to win Barstool merchandise and gain access to unique events with Barstool personalities
Penn National Gaming (PNG) plans to integrate the soon-to-be launched Barstool Sportsbook brand into its omni-channel loyalty program mychoice to offer members merchandise and unique events with Barstool personalities.
In Q2 the operator invested heavily in integrating the formerly retail-focused mychoice program into its new Hollywood casino free-to-play app and RMG casino app in its home state of Pennsylvania.
Speaking during this morning’s investor call, PNG CEO Jay Snowden said the firm had experienced a 40% increase in omni-channel engagement across its mychoice database in Pennsylvania in June.
While brick-and-mortar customer engagement was down 20% in June after the majority of PNG venues were reopened post-lockdown, Snowden said retail customers had been playing more online.
“We’re very bullish on our loyalty program and omni-channel and how Barstool Sportsbook will fit into that,” Snowden said.
He expects the Barstool Sportsbook to be integrated into the mychoice program by the end of the year.
Elsewhere, Snowden said the slight delay in launching the Barstool Sportsbook was down to perfecting the product’s UX/UI to be able to leave a good first impression with consumers.
He said the app would offer a competitive product with a traveling wallet and a betslip that is “second to none.”
“We could have launched this app in Q1 or Q2 but it would not have been a competitive product,” the CEO added.
Once the Barstool Sportsbook app is launched in September, initially in Pennsylvania, to leverage casino cross-sell opportunities, the product team expects to release updates every six weeks.
“Our content and integration with Barstool will get better and better with every release,” Snowden said.
Bettors will also be able to engage with content specific to Barstool personalities. One example Snowden gave was to bet against Barstool CEO Dave Portnoy or save specific bets he made.
When asked about bringing more of the PNG tech stack in-house, Snowden said the firm’s priority for the moment was successfully launching the Barstool app.
“We didn’t want an off-the-shelf product that wasn’t competitive, we wanted proprietary features and functionality that differentiated our product and we wanted to own every aspect that touches the end user,” he told investors.
“Does it make sense to go more vertical in the back-end? Maybe, but also maybe not because there are some that do it better than us,” he added.
PNG uses Kambi to power its sportsbook back-end but has hired a team of its own product developers led by head of Barstool Sportsbook Scot McClintic.