It’s time to sidle up to the slots, Stoolies. Barstool online casino is officially authorized to operate 24/7 in Pennsylvania as of noon on May 5, the PGCB confirms. It is the state’s 16th online casino.
The new PA casino launch follows testing that took place:
- May 3 from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
- May 4 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
In late January 2020, Pennsylvania-based Penn National Gaming acquired a 36% stake in Barstool Sports for $163 million in cash and stock. Barstool online casino and sportsbook entered the state’s iGaming and mobile sports betting market through a partnership with PNG-owned Hollywood Casino (Grantville).
Barstool online casino in PA
You can play at Barstool’s online casino if you are 21+ and physically located in Pennsylvania. It is integrated with the Barstool sportsbook which can be downloaded at the Apple Store, Google Play Store or via desktop.
A Friday afternoon promotional email read:
“Pennsylvania, Get Ready. Barstool Casino is coming soon to the Barstool Sportsbook App. As a Barstool Sportsbook player, you will be among the first in Pennsylvania to try out Barstool Casino. Stay tuned for more information on when your exclusive Barstool Casino access will be available. This is your chance to play your favorite casino games online, including Blackjack with Live Dealer…We’re ready PA, are you?”
Table games at Barstool online casino
Barstool soft-launched with live dealer games, slots, and table games.
Live dealer games at Barstool online casino
- Live Blackjack. Five tables with minimums at $5, $30 or $50. Max bet $5000
- Infinite Blackjack: Min bet $1/max bet $5000
- American Roulette Live: Min bet .50/mac bet $2000
- Baccarat Live: Min bet $1/Max bet $2000
- Slingshot Roulette Live: Min bet .10/max bet $2000
Table Games at Barstool online casino
Blackjack:
- First Person Blackjack
- Blackjack by NetEnt
- Blackjack with Surrender
Roulette:
- American Roulette
- First Person Roulette
- Advanced Roulette
- French Roulette
- European Roulette
- First Person Lightning Roulette
Other table games:
- Baccarat
- Game King Video Poker
- Jacks or Better Double Up
Slots at Barstool online casino
Barstool’s PA slot library debuted with about 100 titles.
Jackpot slots:
- Divine Fortune
- Mercy of the Gods
Popular slots at Barstool casino:
Some of the more popular slots include familiar names such as:
- Cleopatra
- DaVinci Diamonds
- Fortune Coin
- Gonzo’s Quest
- Wheel of Fortune Triple Extreme Spin
Barstool online casino has tabs “On the floor at Hollywood Casino” and “On the floor at Meadows Casino.” It displays slots that are available at both the brick-and-mortar location and online.
Promos and Rewards at Barstool
Barstool Casino PA promo: New users get up to a max of $500 in casino bonus cash in their first 24 hours.
Users at Barstool online casino can earn mychoice rewards, Penn National Gaming’s rewards program.
How to earn tier points at online casino
- Every $12 of coin-in slots = 1 tier point
- $12 of coin-in on video poker = 1 tier point
- $25 bet on table games = 1 tier point
Penn National Gaming to launch Penn Game Studios
Barstool’s Pennsylvania iGaming arrival wasn’t the only news out of Penn National Gaming on May 3. Penn National Gaming announced plans to launch Penn Game Studios. The in-house content development team will be focused on creating original iGaming content for PNG and Barstool.
According to Monday’s press release, Penn Game Studios will be fueled by the two recent acquisitions of HitPoint Studios and its spun-off real money gaming company, LuckyPoint. The acquisition is expected to close in the near term.
Jay Snowden, President & CEO of Penn National said:
“We are incredibly excited to be launching Penn Game Studios, which is another important step in our Company’s evolution into the leading omni-channel provider of retail and interactive gaming, sports betting and entertainment. We will now have the ability to create exclusive content for our audiences, further leverage the Barstool Sports brand and our database of 20 million mychoice customers, and create cross-marketing opportunities with our brick and mortar facilities.”
What will Penn Game Studios mean for Barstool casino games?
Does this mean we will see a Dave Portnoy-branded slot? Will PNG create their own poker platform? With a personality like Portnoy and a plan to target Barstool’s millennial demographic, it will be interesting to see what comes out of the Penn Game Studios.
HitPoint develops platforms for real-time, multiplayer casual mobile games. They have created over fifty games for brands such as Microsoft, EA/PopCap, and Google.
Most online casinos in Pennsylvania tend to blend together in terms of games and user experience. However, keep in mind that PA is only one of a handful of states to even offer iGaming and that it is approaching its two-year anniversary. One casino that is also under a “skin” of Penn National – DraftKings Casino PA – does offer one of the only unique experiences. DraftKings casino has branded games such as “DraftKings basketball blackjack,” “DraftKings Retro Blackjack” and “DraftKings Vacation Blackjack.”
Barstool sportsbook in PA
When Penn National Gaming acquired Barstool in Jan. 2020, the sports media company was valued at $450 million. The agreement gives Penn National the sole rights to use the Barstool Sports brand for its online sports betting and online casino products.
Dave Portnoy a.k.a “el Presidente,” founder of Barstool Sports, remains the bombastic, polarizing leader. In April, drama surrounding Portnoy started with a sex tape and ended with a Twitter feud with Elon Musk.
Through Barstool’s partnership with Hollywood Casino, Pennsylvania was the first state to launch a Barstool online sportsbook in Sept. 2020.
Barstool online casino is live in Michigan
Barstool first debuted its iGaming offering, along with another online sportsbook, in Michigan in February 2021. That was after opening a retail Barstool Sportsbook in Dec. 2020.
Snowden said in a media release about Barstool’s Michigan launch:
“We have been incredibly pleased with the success of the mobile app since launching in Pennsylvania in September. Our customers have thoroughly enjoyed engaging with Dave Portnoy, Dan ‘Big Cat’ Katz and other Barstool fan favorites, and we expect more of the same in Michigan. As the only gaming operator with a fully integrated sports media and entertainment partner, Penn can provide our customers the opportunity to interact with Barstool personalities online and also in-person at our new Barstool Sportsbook at Greektown.”
Snowden also thanked Barstool’s platform providers, Kambi and White Hat Gaming.
In March 2021, Barstool’s Michigan online casino raked in $3.9 million in revenue. It put them seventh out of the state’s eleven operators.
Spring has sprung at PA online casinos
The first online casinos started arriving in Pennsylvania in July 2019. Ahead of its two-year anniversary, the iGaming scene in Pennsylvania has had a busy spring.
- April 29: BetMGM and Borgata went fully live with poker in PA. They are the state’s first new poker options since PokerStars arrived in Nov. 2019 and BetMGM Poker PA falls under Penn’s Hollywood Grantville iGaming license.
- April 20: Boyd Gaming Corporation and FanDuel Group launched Stardust-branded online casinos in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
- April 15: Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board released monthly revenue figures for PA online casinos. In March 2021, iGaming operators posted record revenue of $97.7 million. It obliterated the previous month’s revenue of $77.8 million.
Penn National and its three online casinos – DraftKings, Hollywood Casino, and BetMGM – finished first among all operators for total taxable gaming revenue (online slots and table games) with $33.6 million.
After going on a rocket ride to an all-time high of $142 on March 15, $PENN stock has come back down to earth. It closed trading at $89.12 on April 30, the day Penn teased the upcoming launch of Barstool online casino, and closed Monday at $90.47.
