Dave Portnoy talks about his digital empire catering to a young, mostly-male audience that he calls "normal guys," and about blowback from some of his site's "locker-room"-style content.
Dave Portnoy's Barstool Sports began in 2003 as a free weekly newspaper of gambling tips published out of his mother's basement; it's now a digital empire worth hundreds of millions of dollars, catering to a young, mostly-male audience that he calls "normal guys." The provocative Portnoy talks with Tony Dokoupil about blowback from some of his site's "locker-room"-style content; a rise in antisemitism; and how he can ignore criticism due to his "good moral compass."
Prediction markets, like Kalshi, which allow people to place wagers on everything from elections and sports to the anticipated bridesmaids at Taylor Swift's wedding, are booming. But this burgeoning business model is coming under scrutiny.