Where Penn decides to roll out its Barstool-branded mobile app will depend on where it can get the best “bang for its buck,” Kaplowitz said. The internally designed sportsbook app, powered by Kambi, will launch in August before the NFL betting season. Some states being considered are Michigan, Illinois and Colorado, he added. Barstool Bets is a new destination to enjoy hilarious content presented by Barstool Sports. Keep up with Dave 'El Presidente' Portnoy, Dan 'Big Cat' Katz, Marty Mush and Brandon Walker as they talk.

Indiana’s online sports betting market has come a long way.

It’s been about a year since the state’s first online betting appsopened for business.

Barstool Bets is Barstool Sports’ page for sports betting content and free-to-play contests. They have both a website and an app available that provides sports betting news, blogs, videos, and more in addition to their contests.

Since then, a handful of other companies have put some skin in the game.

Hoosiers now have nine online sportsbooks to pick from, but the question is, which company will bump that number up to double digits?

It could very well end up being Barstool Sportsbook.

Barstool Sportsbook Expansion

Launching in Indiana is on Barstool’s to-do list. It’s one of the many states that the company plans on expanding to.

According to Penn National Gaming CEO Jay Snowden, Barstool Sportsbook is planning on having a huge presence in the market nationwide.

“As you get into 2021, I think you should expect for us to be in every state that’s legal, where we operate and can launch by the end of 2021. We’ll be in over a dozen states by the end of the calendar year.”

Right now, Barstool Sportsbook is only available in Pennsylvania.

That’s going to change soon.

Online sports betting is starting in Michigan in just a matter of weeks. Barstool plans on being ready to take bets on day one.

Barstool Indiana

Barstool Gambling App States

Even though Barstool is coming to Michigan sooner rather than later, we don’t have any timeline for its Indiana launch.

For now, all we know is that the sportsbook should be ready to go by the end of 2021.

However, when Barstool does eventually launch, it will happen via a partnership with a Penn National Gaming casino.

Penn bought a 36% stake in Barstool for $163 million earlier this year. In a few years, the company will have the option of buying a bigger stake to take controlling interest of the company.

That deal gave Barstool Sportsbook the market access it needed.

Since Penn owns dozens of casinos around the country, Barstool now has a retail partner that stretches across the US.

In Indiana, Penn owns Ameristar East Chicago and Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg.

Ameristar is already partners with DraftKings and theScore Bet, while Hollywood is PointsBet’s Indiana partner.

Depending on how things shake out, Penn could decide to tether Barstool to either of those casinos.

Barstool will be taking bets in Indiana eventually, but will its launch come quickly enough to become the state’s 10th sportsbook?

BetIndiana Sportsbook

BetIndiana is the most likely company to beat Barstool to market in the Hoosier State.

That is, if the sportsbook can finally make its debut.

The first big step in launching an online sportsbook in Indiana is obtaining a temporary vendor license from the Indiana Gaming Commission.

Typically, sportsbooks launch shortly after obtaining the license.

For example, BetMGM snagged its license on Jan. 13, 2020. It opened its digital doors for business on Feb. 25.

BetIndiana, on the other hand, has been slow to get things moving. It received its license on the same day as BetMGM, but still hasn’t been able to come to market yet.

A number of coronavirus-related setbacks have things months behind schedule.

BetIndiana plans on launching sometime this fall, but with the way things have been going, it wouldn’t be a shock to see its launch end up in 2021 territory.

So in terms of which company will end up as Indiana’s 10th sportsbook, it’s all up to the timing.

Does Barstool plan on launching in Indiana soon, or will its Hoosier State debut come closer to the end of 2021?

We finally know where Barstool Sportsbook plans to make its next move: the online Michigan sports betting market.

Penn National CEO Jay Snowden shared the plans in a wide-ranging interview with Fantini Research CEO Frank Fantini. Fantini Research is a subscription-only newsletter for gaming investors and insiders and publishes its CEO One-on-One series around G2E every year.

Barstool Sports Gambling App

Michigan will be only the second state for the Barstool Sportsbook brand after launching in Pennsylvania last month. This launch is different, though, since the app will launch with everyone else instead of entering market that’s more than a year old. A retail sportsbook will also open before the end of the year.

“I think it’s going to really be a nice proof point to show maybe what many other states will look like when we’ve had the appropriate time to play catch up,” Snowden said in the video interview.

Sports betting in Michigan launched right as the coronavirus pandemic hit in March. Online sports betting is expected to launch in mid to late November, Snowden said. Online casino will follow shortly after when allowed.

Barstool Gambling Apparel

Snowden predicts the Barstool Sportsbook app will be live in 12 states by the end of 2021, including online casino where legal.

No more Barstool Sportsbook launches this year

According to Snowden, Michigan will be the only other state where Barstool Sportsbook launches in 2020.

That’s a bit surprising given the other states recently listed in an investor presentation where Penn plans to launch next:

Colorado
Illinois
Indiana
New Jersey
Virginia
West Virginia

All but Virginia sports betting is live, which means Penn is missing out on the valuable acquisition period that is NFL betting season in at least five states. Red feather casino oregon map. Penn previously mentioned launching multiple states through the first quarter. That suggests March Madness might be a bigger inflection point for the app than the Super Bowl.

Another glaring omission is there’s still no mention of sports betting in Tennessee. There’s no limit on sports betting licenses in Tennessee — which will have online-only betting — but it also has a required 10% hold, the first of its kind in the US. (Hold for sportsbooks is typically below that threshold for most US sportsbooks.)

That’s another missed market this year since Tennessee launches Nov. 1.

Barstool Sportsbook growing the PA market

Snowden couldn’t say much on Barstool’s performance in Pennsylvania since its earnings call is in two weeks. So far, though, the brand has had great momentum, he said.

Penn previously announced record download rates in its first weekend with $11 million in handle over the first weekend and $12.5 million over the second weekend.

Snowden pointed to the loyalty of Barstool fans and suggested they’re bringing new business to the PA sports betting market.

Barstool Gambling App

“We think we’re largely growing the market, which is very important, as opposed to just stealing share,” he said. “That Barstool audience is very loyal. So we’ve been growing the market, from what we can see and what the data is telling us.”