Members of the state gaming fee are elevating pink flags in regards to the connections between the homeowners of Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville, which is making use of for a sports activities betting license, and Barstool Sports.

Massachusetts lawmakers permitted laws to legalize sports activities betting earlier this yr, and regulators hope to make such betting a actuality on the state’s three casinos before the Super Bowl next February. Other choices, together with cellular sports activities betting, may come within the weeks and months after.

But at a gathering of the fee on Tuesday, members of the fee questioned representatives of Penn Entertainment, the mum or dad firm of Plainridge Park, about its relationship with Barstool Sports to assist promote sports activities betting. Penn purchased preliminary stakes of Barstool in 2020 and recently moved to totally purchase the corporate for $387 million. The deal is ready to be accomplished early subsequent yr.

Through the partnership, Barstool has gotten its personal sports-betting app and gotten branding inside Penn casinos. But the corporate was additionally the topic of a latest New York Times story highlighting the private playing problems with Barstool founder David Portnoy, who has beforehand reported accusations of sexual misconduct towards him. The model’s push to attraction to a youthful demographic has turn out to be a priority for state regulators.

At a gathering on Tuesday, Commissioner Eileen O’Brien raised questions in regards to the suitability of Barstool to be linked to sports activities betting within the state.

“You’re gonna have a Barstool’s-branded sports bar on the premises, according to the proposition that you guys are putting forward,” she mentioned. “And I’m concerned about some of the historical marketing associated with Barstool.”

Chair Cathy Judd-Stein backed up these questions, saying that regulators at the moment are at a crossroads due to the timing of the Times article, which highlighted the promotion of playing habits by folks in Barstool’s realm that critics say is irresponsible.

“So now we have an obligation to reconcile what is very available publicly as to Barstool and really the significant personality attached to Barstool and what we’re gonna do about it as we think about this application,” she mentioned.

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She identified that, apart from the problem with Barstool, Penn’s presentation on accountable gaming was “excellent.”

North Grounsell, the overall supervisor at Plainridge Park, mentioned that Barstool’s personalities do not simply spotlight the advantages of sports activities betting, pointing to the corporate’s posts about dropping cash on bets.

Erin Chamberlin, the senior vice chairman of regional operations for Penn, together with Massachusetts and Maine, mentioned that Barstool’s staff have teamed up with Penn to speak in regards to the significance of betting responsibly.

“I have seen that it cuts through, I believe, a lot of the clutter, I would say, in terms of these advertising opportunities as well,” she mentioned. “It’s a very innovative approach to responsible gaming. It speaks to younger people in a different type of voice that I think resonates with them and really makes it stand out a little bit differently.”

The fee postponed a vote on granting the sports activities betting utility to Plainridge Park to a later date.