Barstool Sports has targeted the premiere of its sports betting app in time for the 2020 NFL season in September, CEO Erika Nardini said June 25 during an appearance on the Fox Business Network. In addition to the app, Barstool plans to establish brick-and-mortar sportsbooks at Penn National casinos around the country.
Nardini said Penn National’s “massive footprint” and Barstool’s unique personalities, including founder Dave Portnoy, will give its sports betting push an advantage on the competition.
“We’re going to be talking about it all the time online,” Nardini told Fox anchor Liz Claman. “We’re going to have a hand in creating the parlays and thinking about the bets. We’re going to have some fun with it.”
Barstool’s launch comes amid growing competition in the legal gambling marketplace from FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM. Penn National acquired a 36 percent stake in Barstool in a deal that valued the company at $450 million last January.
Nardini is confident that its sportsbook app will generate betting action upon launch, even with an uncertain outlook for U.S. sports during the pandemic.
“Bettors will bet on anything,” Nardini said. “They’ll bet on the ponies, they’ll bet on hockey, they’ll bet on tennis. Tennis is the second-largest betting pool on the planet, so there’s so much betting activity around tennis. You’ll find people betting around Bulgarian soccer.”
