On February 11, the “inventor” of Barstool Sports, Dave “El Presidente” Portnoy, used his social media to make the big announcement regarding the new multi-million-dollar partnership that his company and DraftKings have agreed upon.  

Portnoy, who is also the owner of #DDTG Global and a “Brick Watch Man” and “2-time bee sting survivor” as he describes himself on his X (former Twitter) account, officially confirmed that the two companies have completed the multi-year sports betting media partnership, a deal that was initially reported by Sportico in January. 

His X message said “We’re back to our roots. DK is once again the exclusive sports betting partner of Barstool Sports. The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

The Partnership, Completed at the End of the Super Bowl

The agreement could only be completed after the Super Bowl came to an end, with the Kansas City Chiefs edging the San Francisco 49ers. 

The reason was a non-compete clause that Barstool Sports had to respect. The clause referred to the closing of the company’s relationship with PENN Entertainment after the operator decided to give up on its Barstool Sportsbook in favor of a new partnership with ESPN.

PENN paid $1.5 billion to obtain the licensing rights for ESPN Bet. 

In August 2023, the most innovative provider of gaming entertainment in North America sold 100% of outstanding Barstool Sports shares to Portnoy after inking an agreement with ESPN to rebrand their current sportsbook while eliminating Barstool from the equation. 

Originally, PENN acquired a stake in Barstool in 2020, gaining complete control in February 2023 in a deal valued at $551 million that was paid over two tranches.

First on the List, a Free-Throw Challenge

The “multi-year monster deal with DraftKings,” as Portnoy called it, will first lead to the latter along with various other Barstool Sports personalities including Dave, Big Cat, Hank, Jersey Jerry, Steven Cheah, Rico Bo$co, Mark Titus, Brandon Walker, Big T, Kirk, and other Bullpen members from participating in a free-throw challenge.

The goal of the event has been set to 41 made free throws in a row, which is the National Basketball Association’s Record for most free throws in a row. 

The event will be commented on by PFT commenter Nick Turani and KB. During each new round, Portnoy and Dan will pick five participants to join them as a team and try to reach the 41 throws in a row. 

Each team member must complete at least two free throws and up to 10 free throws. Portnoy will need to hit the 15th, 30th, and 41st free throws. 

The group will start with 75 mulligans. Once all are used, the group will only receive one extra mulligan every three rounds.  

The challenge will be streamed live and incorporate a series of questions that viewers will need to answer based on what they think will happen during the stream.

Those viewers who answer the most questions correctly win a share of the set $100,000 prize pool.

Elsewhere, DraftKings executives Jason Robins, Paul Liberman, and Stanton Dodge sold close to $78.8 million worth of stock before the release of the company’s fourth quarter and 2023 results. 

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Esports entertainment giant BLAST has unveiled a new agreement with the esports betting platform unikrn. As a result, BLAST will promote the operator’s brand across its tournaments and fan-centered events.

As announced by the two companies, unikrn will be “deeply embedded” into the BLAST fan experience. The esports betting company’s branding will be thoroughly promoted across BLAST’s fan activations, social giveaways and broadcasts.

Unikrn’s logo will also feature physically and digitally across the BLAST Premier tournament series, including the upcoming BLAST.tv Paris Major CS:GO competition.

In addition to that, the multi-year agreement will also see unikrn own the BLAST Picks segment, a series where BLAST’s analysts predict the outcomes of esports matches. The betting brand will also be featured in BLAST.tv’s PickEms where the CS:GO community can have its own share of esports predictions.

BLAST promised to share more details of the unikrn integration for the upcoming Major very soon.

Unikrn is an esports betting brand that is currently available to video game aficionados in Brazil and Canada (with the exception of Ontario). The brand offers exciting markets for esports betting, providing the new generation of gamers and esports fans with exciting wagering opportunities.

The operator also allows its users to become a part of the action and bet on their own skills with its UMode and Moneymatch products.

BLAST Is Thrilled to Team up with Unikrn

BLAST’s commercial director, Oliver Clarke, commented on the new agreement. He praised the operator’s tailored esports and gaming offerings and noted that his team is excited to welcome unikrn as its global partner.

Their [unikrn’s] tailored esports and gaming offering means fans of the BLAST.tv Paris Major and BLAST Premier tournament series have a safe, secure and dedicated betting platform built for their passions.

Oliver Clarke, commercial director, BLAST

Clarke added that 2023 will be an exciting year for BLAST because of the many events the organizer has planned.

Unikrn’s chief executive officer, Justin Dellario, also voiced his thoughts on the agreement. He applauded BLAST for becoming an epicenter of esports action and being behind some of the best CS:GO events in history.

unikrn is built for these moments when fans are looking for the deepest and best possible experience as they root on their favorite players and teams. We are thrilled to be BLAST’s partner and to bring our world-class insights and betting opportunities to its millions of fans.

Justin Dellario, chief executive officer, unikrn

BLAST is best known for its flagship BLAST Premier series – a line of exciting live CS:GO events that attract tens of thousands of fans each year.

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The leading gambling technology company, Playtech, announced a new collaboration with DAZN Bet, an innovative sports betting business that launched its services last year. Thanks to the deal, announced Tuesday, DAZN Bet will benefit from content provided by Playtech.

Such content will include table games, live casino games, as well as casino RNG games. Lauded as an exclusive multi-year deal, the collaboration is expected to help DAZN Bet by delivering new experiences for its customers.

The duo confirmed that the deal is already live for customers in the UK, however, expansion to additional markets is also possible. In fact, DAZN Bet and Playtech hinted plans for expansion of the strategic partnership to other leading European markets such as Germany, Italy and Spain, among other global jurisdictions. The plans for further expansion come as no surprise, considering that Playtech’s content is well-known for its quality, attention to detail and innovation.

At the same time, featuring Playtech content is expected to help DAZN Bet continue to grow further its global footprint. Ultimately, the innovative sports betting business seeks to deliver unique and fun gambling experiences for sports fans and bettors alike in collaboration with DAZN, the global media and daily sports platform.

The Deal Is Expected to Benefit the Duo

Mark Kemp, DAZN Bet’s CEO, explained that the company is excited to team up with Playtech. He outlined that the new deal will help the company deliver new and engaging experiences by bringing innovative content from Playtech. Finally, Kemp said that the collaboration complements the DAZN Bet’s growth plan.

“I am delighted to partner with the team at Playtech, adding additional new industry leading products to the brand and supporting our mission to create a new fun DAZN Bet sports betting experience.“

Mark Kemp, CEO of DAZN Bet

Shimon Akad, Playtech’s COO, added that the company is delighted to ink this multi-year deal with DAZN Bet. He explained that Playtech focuses on maintaining existing partnerships but is always happy to establish new collaborations with innovative and exciting brands. Finally, Akad said: “We look forward to building on this momentum and finding new ways to work together as part of this exciting deal.”

Recently, the global sports entertainment company, DAZN Group, improved accessibility via the launch of DAZN 1 HD for the UK and Ireland. According to the company, the new programming, which is expected to deliver exciting sports content, will be available via Sky’s channel 429.

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