The Indiana Gaming Commission has yet to give Barstool Sportsbook the green light to launch online gambling in Indiana, but according to Dave Portnoy, the public face of the brand, it’s coming on Tuesday.
Barstool already has a retail presence in the Hoosier State through the brick-and-mortar sportsbook operations of Penn National Gaming, which owns a large chunk of Barstool Sports and controls the brand’s betting business.
INDIANA……SEE YOU TUESDAY. #BARSTOOLSPORTSBOOK pic.twitter.com/IB230o78iv
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) May 14, 2021
Barstool coming to Indiana cyberspace this month was expected, based on comments last week from Penn’s CEO.
The Barstool Sportsbook app will arrive in Indiana this month, and Penn National Gaming CEO Jay Snowden said four more states will be added before the NFL season begins. @GaryRotstein on Snowden's comments about the company's performance and future plans: https://t.co/EKeYdbF98X pic.twitter.com/GKj9pJblmw
— US Bets (@US_Bets) May 6, 2021
The sportsbook will start off far behind rivals in Indiana, which began online sports betting in fall 2019.
Indiana saw more than $236 million in handle in April, with DraftKings ($79.2 million), FanDuel ($67.1 million), and BetMGM ($30.9 million) controlling the bulk of the market. In neighboring Michigan, Barstool launched alongside its rivals in January, giving it a more level playing field. The mobile app is also available in Pennsylvania and Illinois.
Portnoy has become a stock market trading influencer, and his tweet about the upcoming launch spiked the stock from just under $80 to over $81. The stock, which trades as PENN, was having a green day prior to Portnoy’s announcement, though. PENN is still down significantly from its mid-March high of $136 a share, with its year-to-date price virtually flat at about $80.
The stock saw big pumps leading up to the Super Bowl in February and the March Madness tip-off.
