PENN Entertainment CEO acclaims post-migration Ontario market benefits
Jay Snowden lauds Canadian provincial market growth following theScore transition to proprietary tech stack with plans to replicate growth in US
PENN Entertainment CEO Jay Snowden has praised the performance of the new PENN proprietary technology platform in Ontario, suggesting it had “exceeded” the firm’s expectations following the migration of theScore brand earlier this year.
Speaking as part of PENN’s Q3 2022 financial results call, Snowden lauded the firm’s initial results in online casino and player retention key performance indicators in the market.
“Our transition in Ontario to our proprietary tech platform has exceeded our expectations by performing seamlessly with increased utilization, new betting markets, and other features,” Snowden said.
Snowden suggested the migration had delivered product freedom to the brand in its pursuit of market share in Ontario.
“Notably, Ontario has already become our top market in North America for both online sports betting and icasino, and we are seeing very nice momentum in both categories through our first football season.
“The advanced promotional capabilities of our player account management system have helped drive these results in Ontario, and we look forward to bringing these same capabilities to the Barstool Casino in the US next year post-migration,” Snowden added.
PENN is due to complete the migration of the Barstool Sportsbook by the middle of 2023, with a provision to realize cost savings from the transition away from previous sportsbook supply partner Kambi.
Snowden also confirmed the early stage integration of the Barstool Sportsbook into theScore’s media app, which began on October 19, as the firm looks to replicate that growth in the US market.
PENN is due to take full ownership of the Barstool Sportsbook in February 2023, increasing its 36% stake in the business, which it purchased in 2020, to a 100% stake through a $387m deal.
The move is a part of PENN’s strategy of becoming a sports and media business, utilizing both content and betting/icasino in a push to become the biggest operator in the US.
PENN has already committed to going into the Ohio market, where it has a database of customers from four casino properties in the state.
It will also look to pursue a Massachusetts expansion, utilizing the PENN mychoice database to augment Barstool’s existing presence the state, ahead of a potential Q1 2023 launch.
“All of this leads us to be very optimistic about our future,” Snowden said.
However, the PENN CEO suggested that while the firm would ramp up its efforts in the US, spending would not be excessive in nature.
“We’ll do all of this in a thoughtful way. We’ll be judicious in how much we spend and where we spend,” Snowden said.
“We will not do that in the US until we’re live on our own tech stack. So, you shouldn’t expect to see us pushing forward with that strategy.
“We will support state launches, with three coming up here in the coming months, and we’ll continue to push forward and lean into what is attractive CPA and retention,” he stated.