- Penn National Gaming/Barstool has joined the mobile sports betting market in Illinois through Barstool Sportsbook.
- Illinois now has six state-licensed sportsbooks including BetRivers, PointsBet, FanDuel, William Hill, and DraftKings.
- Barstool Sportsbook has already launched mobile sports betting apps in Michigan and Pennsylvania making Illinois the third state Barstool is active in.
CHICAGO – The burgeoning Illinois sports betting market has added another big name to its loaded selection of online gambling options.
Penn National Gaming and Barstool have launched a mobile sports betting app in Illinois making them the sixth company to do so.
“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,” said Jay Snowden, President and CEO of Penn National. “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.”
Barstool’s unique sports media platform should help the company establish itself in Illinois quickly. However, the sports betting app will be competing with other industry leaders who have already seen Illinois become among the highest-grossing US sports betting markets.
Other Mobile Sports Betting Apps In Illinois
- FanDuel
- BetRivers
- William Hill
- PointsBet
- DraftKings
Sports betting has flourished in Illinois as the handle has increased each month including a record-setting $581 million to start 2021. Even despite the record-breaking numbers the Illinois mobile sports betting market still has room to grow.
“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,” said Snowden. “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.”
This won’t be the last launch from Barstool in 2021 they’ve got more expansion plans in the US online gambling market as the sports betting giant looks to launch sportsbooks in at least 10 more states before the end of the year.
Barstool has already launched mobile betting applications in Michigan and Pennsylvania. The success found in those two states is what is driving the push for Barstool to expand. With the NCAA Tournament, only a week away Barstool has picked one of the perfect times to launch in one of the biggest sports betting markets in the US.
For Illinois sports bettors they get another trusted brand to place their mobile sports bets with. As Illinois continues to expand its sports gambling options expect mobile sports betting operators like BetMGM among other companies to get involved which in return should keep Illinois in the upper echelon of US sports betting states.