SBC Digital Summit North America begins with Penn, regulation and horses

The SBC Digital Summit had its first chapter in late April, it’s second chapter with the SBC Digital Summit Latinoamérica in mid-June, and now returns for its third chapter, with the inaugural SBC Digital Summit North America. The day began with a conversation between host Roger Gros of GGB Magazine and special guest Jay Snowden, President and CEO of Penn National Gaming.

After briefly discussing how far the North American sportsbook market has come after the repeal of PASPA, the two got into just how important Barstool will be to the operation’s branding going forward “We’re going to lead with the Barstool brand from an online sports betting perspective,” Snowden said. “We’re also in the process of converting our existing retail sportsbooks inside of our casinos and our sports bars to Barstool branded sportsbooks and sports bars.”

Gros though wondered if the edgy comedy of Barstool founder Dave Portnoy would cause problems for the operation. “They’ve been at it for 17 years and everything he has said is on video for those last 17 years,” Snowden noted. “I talk to Dave extensively about it and he’s said this publicly that times change. And he looks back at some of the things that he did or said in 2008 or 2011 or 2013 that if it were today he probably wouldn’t have said.”

He concluded: “But the vast majority of the content they created is entertaining – they’re entertainers and comedians. I’ve yet to meet or listen to an entertainer or a comedian that thinks everything they said or did hit the mark when they did it.”