Penn National Opening Three Barstool Sportsbooks in Michigan and Indiana

Posted on: December 22, 2020, 02:13h. 

Last updated on: December 22, 2020, 03:21h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Penn National Gaming plans to open three Barstool Sportsbooks this week.

Penn National Gaming Barstool Sportsbook
Penn National Gaming says the Barstool Sportsbook at Ameristar East Chicago is ready for its first patrons. (Image: Ameristar East Chicago)

The Pennsylvania-based casino operator said a Barstool Sportsbook will open tomorrow at its Greektown Casino Hotel in Detroit, Michigan. A Barstool Sportsbook will also open tomorrow at the Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg in Indiana, and another brick-and-mortar Barstool venue will debut at Ameristar East Chicago Casino & Hotel on Christmas Eve.

The new designs incorporate the spirit of the Barstool Sports brand, resulting in unique sports wagering and dining experiences that we expect our customers will thoroughly enjoy,” said Penn National Sr. VP of Regional Operations Rafael Verde.

Penn National owns a 36 percent stake in Barstool Sports. The casino company opened its first Barstool-branded sportsbook on November 5 at Ameristar Casino Resort in Black Hawk, Colorado.

Penn National CEO Jay Snowden said last month that the Colorado sportsbook was the first of many Barstool betting locations.

Bellying up to the Barstool

Though Penn National operates two casinos in Indiana, the company has yet to launch its own mobile sports betting platform in the Hoosier State. That isn’t to say, however, that the company isn’t deriving revenue from sports betting there.

Ameristar East Chicago and Hollywood Lawrenceburg both have self-service sports betting kiosks. The casinos are also licensing partners of mobile sportsbook operators — respectively, DraftKings and PointsBet.

The Barstool Sportsbook mobile app is live in Penn National’s home state of Pennsylvania. The company plans to expand the online product into additional states. Penn National operates 41 casinos across 19 states. That number will soon become 42 and 20, as the company announced last week a deal to acquire the gaming operations of Hollywood Casino Perryville in Maryland from Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc.

In its press release of the Barstool Sportsbooks at Ameristar East Chicago and Hollywood Lawrenceburg, Penn did not provide a time line as to when it might seek regulatory approval to launch its Barstool mobile app.

Michigan Launch

Detroit’s three commercial casinos are reopening this week following a state-ordered three-week shutdown. The grand opening of Greektown’s Barstool Sportsbook coincides with the property’s welcoming back of guests just in time for the holidays.

While Penn National hasn’t said when the Barstool mobile app might go live in Indiana, its launch is looming in Michigan.

The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) lists Penn Interactive and Barstool Sportsbooks as active online gaming licensees. MGCB spokesperson Mary Kay Bean told Casino.org recently that authorized online gaming and mobile sportsbooks will be permitted to launch their operations in mid-January.

The commercial tax rate on sports betting revenue won via the internet is the same as won at the three Detroit casinos,  8.4 percent.

Detroit’s two other casinos are also ready to go online. MGM Grand Detroit is using the company’s BetMGM interactive iGaming and sports betting platform. MotorCity has partnered with FanDuel for internet operations.