Just in time for March Madness, it appears the Barstool Sportsbook app will soon be available in Illinois for online sports wagering following approval from the state.
Penn National Gaming announced this week that the Illinois National Gaming Board approved its application to launch its Barstool Sportsbook App beginning at noon Thursday.
“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,” Jay Snowden, president and CEO of Penn National, said in a statement.
Previously, the app had only been available in Pennsylvania and Michigan.
It’s been just over a year since sports gambling in Illinois became legal, with the first legal wagers accepted in March 2020. After gaming operations were suspended due to the COVID pandemic on March 16, online betting became available on June 18, with in-person wagering allowed to resume on July 1.
Illinois betting on the Super Bowl brought the state more than $1 million in tax revenue.
According to information from the state Gaming Board, the state pulled in $1,148,890 in tax revenue as a result of wagering on the game, which saw the Tampa Bay Buccaneers best the Kansas City Chiefs.
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Currently, 20 states, plus Washington, D.C., allow online sports betting.
“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,” Snowden said in a statement. “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.”
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