Penn National (PENN) to Start Online Sports Betting in Louisiana
Penn National Gaming, Inc. PENN recently announced plans to launch Barstool Sportsbook mobile app in Louisiana. The news surfaced after Louisiana Gaming Control Board granted permission to Penn National for online wagering in the region. This marks the expansion of online sports betting to 12 states.
The company intends to launch the Barstool Sportsbook mobile app and desktop product on Jan 28, 2022. To support the initiative, it will also offer a range of promotional bets.
Concerning the launch, Jay Snowden, president and CEO of Penn National, stated, “We are thrilled to be launching our Barstool Sportsbook online sports betting product in Louisiana, which will provide our retail casino customers and mychoice loyalty program members another exciting way to enjoy our unique entertainment offerings.”
More Focus on Barstool Sports Partnership
In February 2020, Penn National had reached an agreement to acquire 36% interest in Barstool Sports for nearly $163 million. Per the agreement, Penn National will be the gaming partner of Barstool Sports, a leading digital sports media company. The partnership will provide Penn National access to a database of 66 million sports enthusiasts (or Barstool loyalists), out of which 60% are into sports betting and the remaining are avid bettors.
On Jan 22, 2021, the company unveiled Barstool Sports online sports betting app in Michigan. The company witnessed solid demand and acquired a significant number of new customers on the back of Barstool media partnership tools. On Mar 11, 2021, the company launched the Barstool Sportsbook app in Illinois, where it performed better than expected in the first 30 days of launch. During the period, 54,700 new customers were registered.
During third-quarter 2021, the company launched the Barstool Sportsbook mobile app in five new states. The company also revealed that it has been benefiting from retail Barstool Sportsbook, which continues to stimulate database growth and increases the frequency of visitation in the younger segments. Monthly active users for Barstool Sportsbook and casino have increased more than six times compared with September last year. Going forward, the company anticipates the momentum to continue on the back of its differentiated omni-channel approach.
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In the past six months, shares of Penn National have declined 39.1% compared with the industry’s 19.2% fall.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Penn National currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) at present.
Some better-ranked stocks from the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector are Crocs, Inc. CROX, RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. RICK and Guess, Inc. GES. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Crocs flaunts a Zacks Rank #1. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 41.6%, on average. Shares of Crocs have increased 33.9% in the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CROX’s 2022 sales and earnings per share (EPS) indicates a rise of 48.7% and 23.2%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.
RCI Hospitality flaunts a Zacks Rank #1. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 67.7%, on average. Shares of RCI Hospitality have surged 73.4% in the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RICK’s 2022 sales and EPS suggests growth of 34.9% and 22.1%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.
Guess carries a Zacks Rank #2. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 97%, on average. Shares of Guess have increased 2.3% in the past three months.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GES’s 2022 sales and EPS suggests growth of 38.6% and 4,342.9%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.
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