Penn National Acquires Maryland Casino
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Penn National Gaming is entering the Maryland gaming market after acquiring Hollywood Casino Perryville for $31.1 million. The opportunity comes just six weeks after Maryland legalized sports betting during the November election. Now, Barstool Sportsbook will most likely be coming with Penn National to Maryland.
Penn National will lease the property from Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. for $7.7 million per year, according to a statement released on Tuesday.
“Penn National is excited to acquire the operations of Hollywood Casino Perryville, a property we developed in 2010, which will allow us to re-enter the strong Maryland gaming market and add a twentieth gaming jurisdiction to our leading nationwide footprint,” said Jay Snowden, President, and CEO of PNG.
With Maryland passing sports betting last month, there is a chance that it will be running by the start of the 2021 football season, and Barstool Sportsbook will most likely be one of the platforms bettors can use.
Details of the Deal
Before any bets or wagers can occur, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission still needs to approve the deal, which is estimated to be completed by mid-2021.
Penn built the property in 2010 before Gaming and Leisure took over ownership in 2013. Penn National wanted to split the property from its casino business. Now, Penn National is back in after the acquisition.
Penn National has already announced that it plans to add Barstool Sportsbook as its sports betting operator once Maryland hashes out the rules and regulations for betting in the state. Barstool’s entrance is huge, as Maryland is only offering nine sports betting licenses in the state. Penn bought a stake in Barstool in February of this year, which has helped the company enter the sports betting market.
Maryland will also be adding mobile sports betting to the state, which will also boost the market and revenue. Even if mobile betting is not available right away, Penn National’s location is in a great spot. The casino is less than an hour northeast of Baltimore and near the border of Pennsylvania and Delaware. Despite those states already having sports betting available, they could enter Maryland to head to the Barstool Sportsbook.
Barstool Sportsbook Footprint
Barstool Sportsbook launched in Pennsylvania this fall during the early part of the football season. The first state the sportsbook entered and now looks to expand to multiple states in 2021, with Michigan up next and now Maryland down the road.
The Barstool brand is huge among the millennial and Gen Z demographic. When Barstool launched in Pennsylvania, it had the best single day and weekend downloads among any other sports betting app. It should continue to be a huge hit in whatever state it enters.
Barstool also gained over 10% of Pennsylvania’s market share the first full month after entering the Keystone State. It will also be one of the first members of the Michigan betting market after receiving license approval this week.
With the Penn National acquisition in Maryland, it will be one of the first sports betting operators to enter the state when betting is available. On top of entering a state with only nine available licenses, it could create a stronghold on the Maryland betting market in 2021.
