Indiana’s online sports betting market has come a long way.
It’s been about a year since the state’s first online betting apps opened for business.
Since then, a handful of other companies have put some skin in the game.
Hoosiers now have nine online sportsbooks to pick from, but the question is, which company will bump that number up to double digits?
It could very well end up being Barstool Sportsbook.
Barstool Sportsbook Expansion
Launching in Indiana is on Barstool’s to-do list. It’s one of the many states that the company plans on expanding to.
According to Penn National Gaming CEO Jay Snowden, Barstool Sportsbook is planning on having a huge presence in the market nationwide.
“As you get into 2021, I think you should expect for us to be in every state that’s legal, where we operate and can launch by the end of 2021. We’ll be in over a dozen states by the end of the calendar year.”
Right now, Barstool Sportsbook is only available in Pennsylvania.
That’s going to change soon.
Online sports betting is starting in Michigan in just a matter of weeks. Barstool plans on being ready to take bets on day one.
Barstool Indiana
Even though Barstool is coming to Michigan sooner rather than later, we don’t have any timeline for its Indiana launch.
For now, all we know is that the sportsbook should be ready to go by the end of 2021.
However, when Barstool does eventually launch, it will happen via a partnership with a Penn National Gaming casino.
Penn bought a 36% stake in Barstool for $163 million earlier this year. In a few years, the company will have the option of buying a bigger stake to take controlling interest of the company.
That deal gave Barstool Sportsbook the market access it needed.
Since Penn owns dozens of casinos around the country, Barstool now has a retail partner that stretches across the US.
In Indiana, Penn owns Ameristar East Chicago and Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg.
Ameristar is already partners with DraftKings and theScore Bet, while Hollywood is PointsBet’s Indiana partner.
Depending on how things shake out, Penn could decide to tether Barstool to either of those casinos.
Barstool will be taking bets in Indiana eventually, but will its launch come quickly enough to become the state’s 10th sportsbook?
BetIndiana Sportsbook
BetIndiana is the most likely company to beat Barstool to market in the Hoosier State.
That is, if the sportsbook can finally make its debut.
The first big step in launching an online sportsbook in Indiana is obtaining a temporary vendor license from the Indiana Gaming Commission.
Typically, sportsbooks launch shortly after obtaining the license.
For example, BetMGM snagged its license on Jan. 13, 2020. It opened its digital doors for business on Feb. 25.
BetIndiana, on the other hand, has been slow to get things moving. It received its license on the same day as BetMGM, but still hasn’t been able to come to market yet.
A number of coronavirus-related setbacks have things months behind schedule.
BetIndiana plans on launching sometime this fall, but with the way things have been going, it wouldn’t be a shock to see its launch end up in 2021 territory.
So in terms of which company will end up as Indiana’s 10th sportsbook, it’s all up to the timing.
Does Barstool plan on launching in Indiana soon, or will its Hoosier State debut come closer to the end of 2021?