Barstool Sportsbook officially launched in Tennessee this week in time for the beginning of the new NFL season, just a week after the Tennessee Education Lottery sealed its approval, according to a report in Betting Brain.
The lottery approved two new operators last week, one of which was Barstool, which took the number of licenced operators in the state up to eight.
On Wednesday, the sportsbook announced it was ready to begin taking wagers with no noted start date. However, reports claim that the beginning of the NFL season was always the main goal.
Barstool is part-owned by Penn National Gaming, which bought a 36% stake in the company back in January 2020. Since the investment, Barstool’s growth has been aggressive, with a launch in Arizona also going through this week.
As Tennessee is an online-only sports betting state, wagers will be made available via Barstool’s website and mobile app.
This comes as part of a wider Barstool strategy for geographic and online expansion. The company CEO, Dave Portnoy, boasts over 8m social media followers and envisages a business that utilises the strong social media following and converts those into active users.
The launch of a new sportsbook follows the Tennessee Education Lottery’s announcement that state sportsbooks slipped to their lightest volume month since operations began in November 2020, as bettors found a lack of games to bet on in July.
However, with the beginning of the NFL and other major sports leagues around the world, it is widely expected that sales will increase towards the end of the calendar year.