Barstool Sports owner, Penn National Gaming, has been granted a license to launch its Barstool Sportsbook in the state of Illinois. The sportsbook’s iOS and Android apps will go live at noon on Thursday March 11th.
Barstool Sportsbook is now available in three states after previously launching in both Pennsylvania and Michigan.
The brand joins a competitive sports betting industry that includes FanDuel, BetRivers, PointsBet, and market leaders DraftKings who posted $244.2 million in January for a 42% market share.
The launch follows the news that Illinois gamblers placed $580 million in sports wagers during the month of January. The sports handle for January was an 18.3% increase from on December’s handle of $491.7 million.
Since sports betting went live in the state, operators have seen more than $2 billion in wagers. Industry experts predict that 2021’s sports betting alone could amount to as much as $6 billion.
In a press release Jay Snowden, President and CEO of Penn National said:
“We are extremely excited to launch our online Barstool Sportsbook in Illinois just as the college basketball regular season wraps up and bettors begin their preparations for March Madness.
Dan ‘Big Cat’ Katz started Barstool Chicago in 2012 and has worked with Chief, Eddie, Carl, and ‘White Sox’ Dave to develop a tremendous following across the state by covering all things Windy City through daily blogs and social media content, including the immensely popular ‘Red Line Radio’ podcast. As the only gaming operator with a fully integrated sports media and entertainment partner, our customers in Illinois will now be able to engage with these Barstool personalities through the online Barstool Sportsbook and enjoy their unique take on Chicago sports.”
Snowden went on to add:
“On behalf of the Penn Interactive team and our partners at Barstool Sports, I want to thank the IGB for their approval of our online sports betting application,”
“Alongside our risk management and platform providers, Kambi and White Hat Gaming, we have developed an online sports betting app which is attracting new and existing Penn National customers as evidenced by our performance to-date in Michigan and Pennsylvania. We are eager to leverage the building momentum for the Barstool Sportsbook app with our launch in Illinois and the additional launches we have planned for 2021.”
Penn National expects Barstool Sportsbook to be live in 10 states by the end of 2021.
Ciaran has been working within the Gambling Industry as a deep analyst since 2019. His deep knowledge and understanding of all the gambling regulations, and processes makes him a true asset, and an always valuable point of view for Gambling Industry News, allowing us to cover every topics from a brand new perspective.