It looks as if sports betting will be coming soon to the Freehold Raceway in Monmouth County New Jersey. However, the questions remain when will it happen and who will be the sportsbook operator? In early 2019 the executives at the racetrack came out and stated that they were serious about bringing sports betting to their venue.
Freehold Raceway has the co-owners of Penn National and Greenwood Racing. In late January 2020 Penn National purchased a 36% stake in Barstool Sports, so will that brand be the sportsbook at the Garden State racetrack? New Jersey had a great year for sports wagering and while there are questions to be answered legal sports betting will be coming to Freehold Raceway in the not-too-distant future.
Stats reveal NJ’s love affair with sports betting
In the 20 markets in the United States that had legal sports betting New Jersey came in second in terms of bets made in 2019. Overall, there was $13 billion wagered on sports in the US last year and that set a record. The top five sports betting states in 2019 in the USA were:
- Nevada: $5.3 billion
- New Jersey: $4.6 billion
- Pennsylvania: $1.5 billion
- Indiana: $436 million
- Mississippi: $369 million
The stats have also revealed a huge trend of people wagering online. For example, in December 2019 New Jersey took in $488.9 million in bets from their 17 sports wagering applications, which is 88% of all sports bets taken in the state. Therefore it makes sense that Barstool Sports will enter the New Jersey market when its sports betting application launches.
Details of Barstool Sports App revealed
The sportsbook app for Barstool Sports is still in its early stages. Penn Interactive stated in a press release its main focus is on “what we anticipate will be a best-in-class sports betting app.” The launch of the Barstool Sports NJ app is expected to be in the third quarter of this year.
Jon Kaplowitz is the head of Penn Interactive and gave further details on the plans for the app and its launch.
“Our team is excited to begin collaborating with Barstool Sports on ways to utilize its key talent and leading content to drive audiences to Penn National’s online gaming products and retail locations, as well as to special events and fan experiences,” he said.
Barstool Sports already has an audience in place in the U.S. with 66 million visitors to its site per month. Whether this will translate to bettors remains to be seen. The company is also yet to formally introduce a responsible gambling policy, which will be integral to allaying fears its underage readership may be subjected to incessant gambling advertising.
“Over the last five years, Barstool Sports has brought its audience, creativity and expertise to the biggest sports betting and DFS operators in the country with great results,” Erika Nardini, CEO of Barstool Sports, said.
“The chance to combine our content and fans with Penn National’s massive footprint, and to develop a unique and compelling omni-channel approach together was, for us, a no-brainer.”