The long-awaited Barstool Sportsbook finally has a launch date for its debut in Pennsylvania.
Penn National‘s sportsbook with Kambi‘s technology will launch Sept. 15 for its test period in the PA sports betting market. The official launch is expected three days later on Sept. 18.
That means Penn will only miss one week of NFL betting since week 2 kicks off Thursday Sept. 17.
Both the US sports betting market and the stock market have waited for Barstool Sportsbook since Penn bought 36% of Barstool Sports in January. The news led to a more than 5% pop in the stock in early trading Tuesday.
“The Barstool Sportsbook app is the centerpiece of our Company’s omni-channel strategy,” said Jay Snowden, President and CEO of Penn National. “Since forming our exclusive sports betting and iGaming partnership with Barstool Sports in January, our product, marketing and operations teams have worked hand-in-hand with Barstool’s top talent, including Dave Portnoy and Dan ‘Big Cat’ Katz, to create a sports betting experience that we’re confident will appeal to Barstool’s army of loyal followers, as well as our extensive database of existing casino customers and sports betting fans at large.”
Barstool Sportsbook will launch in other states soon
Pennsylvania likely will not be the only market to have a Barstool Sportsbook for long.
Both Michigan and New Jersey are on the list for Penn National, Snowden said in the company’s second-quarter earnings call.
The three states all share one thing in common: legal iGaming and online sports betting. Both options should lead to significant organic customer acquisition and cross-sell opportunities, he added.
“As a result, we believe the company is poised to capture an outsized share of the high growth US sports betting and online casino markets and achieve market-leading profitability,” Snowden said.
How much market share can Penn & Barstool take?
The Barstool Sportsbook app will be the only sportsbook marketed to the 66 million Barstool Sports fans. That doesn’t mean they’ll definitely download the app, though.
Still, analysts have been quite bullish on what to expect from Penn National. The most recent call came from Craig-Hallum, which initiated coverage with a street-high $75 target.
Analyst Ryan Sigdahl eventually sees a path to a $200 target. He expects Penn to take 15% to 20% of the US online casino and betting market.
“Dave Portnoy is a marketing genius,” Sigdahl wrote. “If millions of people follow his pizza reviews and stock trading, how many do you think will follow his sports betting recommendations? We think a lot.”
