Dave Portnoy has claimed Barstool Sports isn’t a good fit with the gambling industry after buying the company back from PENN Entertainment.

Portnoy is now the complete owner of the company, just five months after PENN had acquired Barstool in February and leaving Portnoy with creative control of the site.

The 46-year-old Portnoy said PENN had decided to go in a different direction after agreeing a deal with ESPN.

Speaking in a video on his Twitter captioned ‘Emergency Press Conference – I Bought Back Barstool Sports’, Portnoy explained: ‘We underestimated just how tough it is for myself and Barstool to operate in a regulated world, where gambling regulators, the New York Times [and] Business Insider hit pieces, f***ing with the stock price every time we did something. 

‘It was one step forward, two steps back. We got denied [gambling] licenses because of me, you name it. So the regulated industry is probably not the best place for Barstool Sports and the type of content we make.

Dave Portnoy has detailed his return to full ownership on Barstool Sports on social media 

‘For the first time in a decade, I own 100% of Barstool Sports — not since the Chernin deal have I been in total control over everything.’

Portnoy said Barstool Sports, for the first time in ‘forever, we don’t have to watch what we say, how we talk, what we do. It is back to the pirate ship.’

The financial terms of Portnoy’s move to buy Barstool Back have not been disclosed but some significant figures have been involved in previous deals. Three years ago PENN paid $163million for 36 per cent stake in Barstool. 

But now, Portnoy insists he is not going to part ways with any part of Barstool again.

‘I am never going to sell Barstool Sports, ever, I’ll hold it ’til I die,’ Portnoy said. ‘And when I die, I’ll give it to whoever is left standing. We will pass it down.

‘I’m not going anywhere. Welcome back, back in control.’