Barstool Sportsbook "Partially" Launches in New Jersey

The current "King of the Legal Sports Betting States", New Jersey officially welcomed a new provider on Friday. With almost zero fanfare and a curious lack of typical bombast from its founder Dave Portnoy, Barstool Sportsbook became the 19th provider operating in the robust New Jersey scene, albeit on a limited basis.

Barstool, one of the most hyped names to enter the US legal sports betting fray the last year bumps its presence to seven states with its move into New Jersey. Currently live in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, the company hopes to have sportsbooks up and running in a total of 10 states by the end of the year.

Building a Behemoth

Barstool Sportsbook wasn't born to become a middling brand within the US legal sports betting scene. Their hope for domination in the industry has been no secret from the beginning. A $163 million commitment by Heavyweight Penn National in January for 36% of the company is proof of Barstool's desires to gain instant credibility in the market.

Barstool was set up for success even before their foray into the legal sports betting realm, as a media phenomenon with a huge, loyal fanbase. At one time they had 9.2 million unique listeners each month from its collection of 38 podcasts. Their overall audience was 66 million - a number that has only grown with their presence in the increasingly popular and mainstream legal sports betting scene.

It is through many of Penn National's market access deals in a host of states that Barstool Sportsbook has been launched. New Jersey is no different. An agreement with Freehold Raceway, owned by Pennwood Racing, an affiliate of Penn National Gaming will house the Barstool Sportsbook that has launched in the New Jersey market.

Not a Whole Lot of Details

As of now, what is being called a soft launch that was executed Thursday, will allow the first 500 customers per day that register on the Barstool app and log in to place bets. That schedule will feature random hours of operation and has been mapped out through Monday at 12 PM.

After that, there is speculation that the full Barstool Sportsbook product could be launched, and that the full suite of branded products could be available to all New Jersey bettors as soon as this week. The timing is no coincidence as the brand will have customer acquisition time prior to September 9 and the kickoff of the NFL season.

While nothing official has come to light, Barstool President Dave Portnoy hinted at the broad, all-encompassing launch of his Barstool brand on his Twitter account starting perhaps Tuesday.

Northeast Aspirations

There is no secret within the US legal sports betting scene that New Jersey is the biggest fish to land. With that seemingly accomplished, Barstool could have had ulterior motives with their move into the Garden State.

New York, which is expected to launch a long-awaited, robust mobile market in the next few weeks has been and remains on the Penn National radar. Currently, Penn National is teamed up with Kambi and Fanatics Sportsbook for which Jay-Z is the Vice Chairman for market access into the impending New York market through the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe.

Having access to the entire New York City metro area and its immense population base, which includes New Jersey is a definite coup for Barstool's northeast aspirations.

Rapid Expansion of the Barstool Brand

Barstool Sportsbook has been on an expansion tear ahead of the 2021-2022 NFL season kickoff. New Jersey represents the third jurisdiction to welcome the brand in the last month alone. In the last 30 days, Colorado has launched a Barstool branded Sportsbook as has Virginia.

During a Conference Call last month to discuss their quarterly earnings, Barstool brass identified their desire for more states to welcome their brand. Tennessee is on that list as is Arizona and it looks as both are good bets to have a Barstool book by September.

As many as nine new states are angling to become part of the broader US legal sports betting family by the start of the NFL season and Penn National is in on every conversation in those jurisdictions.

Barstool is a name that is becoming increasingly prevalent in the US legal sports betting scene. With a ton of money, established Penn National backing and an enormous megaphone thanks to President Dave Portnoy, it looks as though there is little that will slow the Barstool momentum down.