The Stoolies are on red alert after Barstool Sportsbook in Iowa went live on Tuesday.
Barstool tweeted its launch at about 10:30 a.m. It enters the Iowa sports betting market through a license with Ameristar Casino Council Bluffs.
Iowa regulators OK’d Barstool Sportsbook in August
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) approved Ameristar Council Bluffs’ contract with Barstool at its Aug. 26 meeting in Riverside.
The partnership was an obvious fit.
Penn National has a lease for the Ameristar Casino in Council Bluffs. Another branch of the company, Penn Interactive, operates Barstool’s digital platform, including Barstool Sportsbook.
Barstool Sportsbook includes the usual betting markets but also features:
- Cross-sport parlays
- Quick pick-6 parlays
The company marked its arrival with odds boosts for the Iowa Hawkeyes at Northwestern and Texas at Iowa State games on Saturday.
Sign up for Barstool may require a selfie
Customers who sign up for the Iowa sports betting app will have to confirm they are of legal age and betting from within state lines.
PlayIA went through the sign-up process on Tuesday:
The site flagged our attempt with a small red “Location Error Detected” banner at the top of the site. If this happens, a Barstool Sportsbook representative may call immediately to help navigate the process. An email follows.
That should help customers upload a selfie with a driver’s license or ID. The sportsbook also has a live chat feature to help Iowa customers as well.
Ameristar uses Barstool-like branding
Ameristar already uses Barstool resources in Council Bluffs through its relationship under the Penn umbrella. Until the August meeting, Ameristar, not Barstool, had the retail sports betting license. The Council Bluff casino maintained compliance. They shouldered the risk and kept the profits for retail sports bets made at the casino.
TheScore Bet also holds an online sports betting contract with Ameristar.
IRGC administrator Brian Ohorilko said he first became aware of Ameristar’s interest in a Barstool online partnership in the fall of 2020.
There are now 17 online sportsbooks in Iowa. Iowa is Barstool’s 10th state:
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Michigan
- New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
- Virginia
- Tennessee
