Penn National launches its dedicated content development arm to boost iGaming offering through proprietary technological solutions.

Proprietary Gaming Is Coming to Penn National Gaming

Penn National Gaming, a company specializing in sports betting and iGaming products, has announced the creation of a dedicated in-house content development platform, Penn Game Studios (PGS).

PGS will focus on casino content and follow down a path similar to companies such as 888 Holdings and Entain, whereby the firms control the bulk of their technology product and make a point of developing it internally.

To give PGS a fair start, Penn is acquiring HitPoint Studios, Inc and LuckyPoint, Inc., a company that was spun off from the former. The press release specifies that the deal is still subject to regulatory approval. 

Commenting on the partnership, Penn National president and CEO Jay Snowden said that the present deal was an important step in the company’s evolution as a provider of retail and interactive gaming, sports betting, and entertainment.  

“We will now have the ability to create exclusive content for our audiences, further leverage the Barstool Sports brand and our database of 20 million mychoice customers, and create cross-marketing opportunities with our brick and mortar facilities,” Snowden added. 

HitPoint is a particularly valuable asset as the company has produced over 50 dedicated and tailored gaming titles for the likes of EA, Disney, NBCUniversal, Google, and others. The company has been known for its development prowess in the real-time multiplayer mobile segment as well as various other gamification options running on a proprietary platform. 

HitPoint proceeded to spin-off LuckyPoint in 2019 and be able to focus on real-money games as well as remote gaming servers (RGS). HitPoint CEO Paul Hake welcomed the move and said that the team was thrilled to be joining Penn National.

“We look forward to adding our creativity, design, and engineering skills to an already well-accomplished team at Penn National,” Hake said. All of HitPoint’s 30 employees will be integrated as part of Penn National Gaming, and in all likelihood, continue to work in the in-house gaming division.

Penn National has enjoyed consistent financial performance, with the company’s sports betting product running strong in established and newly-regulated betting markets across the United States.