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Barstool Sportsbook Review: Mobile App & Bonuses

Written by: Bill Krackomberger
Fact-checked by: James Whitelock
Updated June 10, 2024
20 min read
Rating by categories:
1/5 User Experience
1/5 Features
1/5 Promotions
1/5 Deposits & Withdrawals
1/5 Customer Support
How We Rate
Affiliate Disclaimer
21+
General Information:
Website: https://www.barstoolsportsbook.com
Min. Deposit: $10
Promo: No Promo Available
Support: Email, Help Center
Promo Code:
No code needed
Launched: 2019
Payout Speed: N/A
Payment Methods: N/A
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% of WSN users recommend Barstool Sportsbook
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Barstool Sportsbook Closed

Barstool Sportsbook closed on November 14, 2023. It was subsequently rebranded as ESPN Bet. Find out more about ESPN Bet in our detailed review.

Pros Easy to use and beginner-friendly
Pros Placing bets is very simple and customizable
Pros Great live-betting section
Cons Info section load time
Cons The live-chat function should be only a click away

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The sports betting explosion in the US has meant room for new sportsbooks of all shapes and sizes, from huge international betting companies to brand new platforms taking their first steps in the industry.

Step forward Barstool Sports, which has taken a giant sideways step from the world of sports and entertainment news, with the launch of the Barstool Sportsbook.

Even though it arrives with no reputation per se in the gambling world, Barstool is fully loaded with a loyal army of fans which is likely to stand them in good stead when it comes to attracting new customers.

In contrast to the media site, Barstool Sportsbook is a clean and focused online sports platform, and slots in easily alongside the other top sites available on the East Coast.

We decided to send in our experts to get the lowdown on the new Barstool online sportsbook. We take a close look at the software, the sports available, the bonus offers and promotions, banking options, customer support, and much more.

Barstool Sportsbook Review Quick Facts

The Barstool Sports brand was created back in 2003 by its controversial founder Dave Portnoy, and quickly gained a huge following in North America as an irreverent and provocative place to stay up to date on the latest sports and pop culture news.

Barstool Sportsbook is the company’s move into the world of sports betting. It launched in Pennsylvania in mid-September 2020, around two years after the federal ban on sports betting in the US was removed.

Barstool Sportsbook brand has the potential to bring a whole new series of customers into sports betting, thanks to its already loyal base of users. Although initially only available in Pennsylvania, Barstool Sportsbook is expected to roll out in other states across the US in time.

There is also a dedicated mobile app, which lets you bet on the go using your mobile.

Here are some of the main things to note about the site:

  • Barstool Sportsbook has an impressive list of sports available to bet on and plenty of different betting markets.
  • To place a bet with Barstool Sportsbook you must be physically located in Pennsylvania.
  • The sportsbook is fully licensed and regulated by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
  • Barstool Sports is part-owned by Penn National since 2020, and the sportsbook operates in partnership with Hollywood Casino at the Penn National Racecourse, PA.

Barstool Sportsbook is a really interesting addition to the sports gambling landscape. Our experts had a lot of good things to say about the site, as well as a couple of areas we think could be improved. And we explain it all here.

Barstool Sportsbook Software & Sports Betting App

Barstool Sports’ media site has quite a lot going on, so our experts were pleasantly surprised to see that the sportsbook is largely a departure from that format.

The online sportsbook is well designed, with a clean blue and white theme that makes it very easy to navigate around. The sports are listed in a menu at the top of the screen, while the left-hand side contains links that let you jump to other sections of the site.

If you click on a bet, the hidden bet slip will slide into view on the right-hand side. You can add as many bets as you want to the slip, and choose what type of bet you want to place from your selections. You can also test out how much you would stand to win, by typing in different stakes.

In terms of betting markets, Barstool displays the most popular bets prominently. Click into the NFL section for instance and you’ll be greeted with the spread, money lines, and totals markets for all upcoming games.

If you drill into a game you can see all the other more technical bets available, like bets on passing yards.

Barstool online sportsbook has lots of nice little touches and twists that make the software especially fun. For instance, you can use a draggable scrollbar to buy points on the spread, or change the over/under.

We also like the Quick Pick parlay tool, which helps you create your own 6 leg parlays by showing suggested markets from upcoming sports of your choice.

The Barstool Sportsbook app is similarly well designed and does a great job of effectively making the sportsbook fit on the smaller screen. Our experts were equally satisfied with both platforms, and we had no complaints when we tried placing bets on the go.

The app is available to download for iOS and Android from app stores.

If you want to find out which sportsbooks have the best mobile apps, we have a list ready for you. Take a look at the Best Sports Betting Apps.

Barstool Sportsbook App & Software Highlights

Features We Like

  • The interface is easy to use and beginner-friendly.
  • Placing bets is very simple, and there are lots of ways to customize the experience, like the scroller and the parlay builder.
  • Popular markets like NFL and NBA games come with an info box showing stats and projections when you click into a game.
  • Easy to jump to the live betting section from the menu, which is smooth and well designed.
  • We like how you can collapse all the menus when you’re not using them to maximize screen space.

Features to Improve

  • The info sections for the games are great, but sometimes they take a little while to load.
  • There is a live chat customer support service, but it’s a little awkward to access. We’d love to see the addition of a one-click button for live chat.

Barstool Sportsbook Bonuses and Promotions

With its background in the world of viral entertainment, Barstool understands the value of generating hype better than most, so we had high hopes for some eye-catching promotions – and we weren’t disappointed.

Barstool Sportsbook has multiple welcome bonuses for new players and also some novel on-running promotions to keep existing bettors happy.

$10 No Deposit First Time Sign Up Bonus

There are two bonuses designed especially for new players, and to claim the first one all you need to do is create an account. Once you’ve signed up, you’ll see $10 in bonus cash waiting for you in your account. Couldn’t be easier.

The bonus cash is subject to a very reasonable 1x wagering requirement on odds of -200 or longer. Once it’s been fulfilled, you’re free to withdraw the cash or use it however you want.

This is an excellent offer, perfect for getting a feel for the sportsbook without risking any of your own money, and low wagering requirements mean you can easily earn real money at absolutely no risk.

For more of the best sportsbook bonuses check out:

First Deposit Risk-Free Bet Up to $500

The other promo for new members involved your first bet. Once you’ve created your account, you’ll need to deposit some of your own funds and place a bet.

If your first bet wins, great. If it loses, you will receive a 100% deposit match of your stake back in the form of bonus cash, up to a limit of $500. The bonus cash is subject to the same wagering requirements as above.

We love the risk free bet, and the combination of both the welcome bonuses is great. $10 for free is a very low welcome bonus for low stakes players, and the high $500 limit on your risk-free first bet is perfect for bettors who want to place a big-money single bet straight off the bat.

Barstool Power Hour

This is one of Barstool Sportsbook’s on-running promotions. Every day, between the hours of 5-6 pm, a selection of games will be chosen to qualify for discounted odds. You need to place your bets within that hour to get the reduced rate, although you can check which matches qualify in advance.

It’s a nice way to get some extra value while encouraging users to keep an eye on the markets.

Customization Bonus

Barstool wants to encourage users to make their sports betting experience as personal as possible, so it’s offering bettors $5 in bonus cash to fill out the “Betting Favorites” section of their profiles.

From our point of view, this is a win-win. Saving your preferences means you’ll see more relevant content, and you also get a free $5 to play with.

Other Promos

Barstool Sportsbook generally tends to have other topical promotions and bonus codes that change depending on what major sporting events are happening at the time. You can check all the bonuses and promo codes in the Promotions section, which you can find on the main menu.

Kinds of Bets and Odds

Generally, our experts were very happy with the range of bets on offer at Barstool Sportsbook.

Unsurprisingly for an online sportsbook born out of a news site, there are also some useful info sections included for major sports markets, which show you statistics and predictions relevant to your bets.

Below are our main observations:

  • Bets at Barstool are generally easy to find and place, with the most popular markets given most real estate on the screen.
  • There is a good selection of prop bets for the most popular sports.
  • The live section is solid, with live updates from the games and a simple interface that makes it easy to place bets at short notice.
  • We’re happy that the odds are up there with the other top online sportsbooks in the US.

Let’s take a closer look.

Popular Bets

Regardless of the sportsbook, the same handful of bets always attract the majority of the actions. For most sports, these tend to be money lines, point spreads, and totals.

When you select a sport from the menu, it’s these bets that you’ll be presented with first. If you’re a new customer and want to stick to classic bets, you’ll have no trouble doing so at Barstool.

The sportsbook also has some nice twists on the classics, like the scrollbar you can use to edit the over/under line for totals.

Prop Bets

Barstool Sportsbook’s collection of props is good for the top sports (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and soccer), but more limited for less popular sports. In the NFL for example, you can bet on things like what the first scoring play will be, the first team to 20 points, or even the rushing yards of individual players. Take a look at our selection of NFL prop bets.

You can find lots of markets like this for the biggest sports, but if you’re looking for similar bets outside of the top four or five leagues you might be disappointed. Overall our experts found more than enough props to keep us interested.

Live Betting

Barstool’s live betting section is good. There is a solid variety of sports to bet on at any time, and most of them have multiple markets in play. You can even bet on live props for the top sports.

There are live score updates from the games, but for now, Barstool hasn’t gone down the route of streaming action live on the site, as some competitors have. You can also cash out live bets before the match is finished, which is a fun option.

Other Bets

Barstool has a deep selection of other types of bets.

All the classic futures bets are available, and upcoming major tournaments often qualify for boosted on odds on selected futures. Markets on the likes of the Super Bowl, the NBA MVP, or the winner of the World Cup are all available.

Barstool also has an excellent selection of parlay bets available. The intelligent bet slip is great for customizing your own parlays. Just add as many selections as you like, and the bet slip will automatically present you with all the potential parlay bets – teasers, round robins, and more.

The Quick Pick tool is also a fun way to find parlays you like. You can select your criteria – the sport, the dates, the odds – and the software will suggest potential bets you can add to your parlay.

In general, our experts are happy with the betting options at Barstool Sportsbook. The odds are good, all the most popular bets are very easy to place, and a lot of attention has gone into creating parlay software. The range of prop bets is probably just outside the very top couple of online sportsbooks in the US, but this is unlikely to bother too many bettors.

Sports You Can Bet on at Barstool Sportsbook

Our experts are very happy with the sports available at Barstool. Unless you’re looking for some seriously out there sports, we’re very confident you’ll be totally satisfied.

99% of the action will be generated by the likes of NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and soccer, but there are plenty of other interesting sports available too.

The full list of options we found during our review is below:

This range of sports is right up there, in our experience.

It’s also worth noting that it’s early days for Barstool Sportsbook, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see some more sports added over time.

Options for Depositing and Withdrawals

The arrival of legal sports betting in the US was transformative in lots of ways. Not least in the fact that sports betting fans could finally legally deposit and withdraw money, via protected transactions, without fear of getting scammed.

For this section, we asked our experts for a full report on all the banking options at Barstool Sportsbook – and they were impressed.

You can see all the methods below:

Deposits

  • Visa
  • Mastercard
  • Barstool Sportsbook Play + Account
  • Wire Transfer
  • PayPal
  • Online Banking
  • ACH Transfer
  • PayNearMe

Withdrawals

  • Barstool Sportsbook Play + Account
  • ECheck
  • PayPal
  • Online Banking
  • ACH Transfer

In our experts’ opinion, this range of banking options should have just about everyone covered. We always like to see a diverse spread of options, and that’s exactly what Barstool provides.

Every method is also smooth and easy to use. We were able to both deposit and withdraw by following the instructions from the cashier with no issues.

Banking Methods Comparison Table

Having lots of options is undoubtedly a good thing, but it does mean figuring out which one works best for you can be a little tricky. To help you decide, we created the following table, which clearly shows the differences between each method.

MethodDepositWithdrawalProcessing TimeMinimum DepositMax DepositFees
VisaYesNoInstantNoneNoneNone from Barstool
MastercardYesNoInstantNoneNoneNone from Barstool
Barstool Sportsbook Play+YesYesInstantNoneNoneNone from Barstool
Wire TransferYesNoOne business dayNoneNoneNone from Barstool
PayPalYesYesInstantNoneNoneNone from Barstool
Online BankingYesYesInstant for deposits, 3-5 business days for withdrawalsNoneNoneNone from Barstool
ACH TransferYesYesInstant for deposits, 3-5 business days for withdrawalsNoneNoneNone from Barstool
PayNearMeYesNoInstantNone$500/dayYes
CheckNoYesUp to 14 business daysNoneNoneNone but you need to withdraw min. $250

Sign Up and Registration

Another bonus of legal and regulated sports betting is that the sign-up process is not only easy but also safe and secure as a matter of policy.

If you’ve ever signed up for a US online sportsbook before, you’ll know that the process tends to be largely similar every time, and Barstool Sportsbook is no different.

Our experts had no trouble creating an account during their tests, and the whole activity only took a couple of minutes.

Here’s our step by step guide:

  1. Choose “Create An Account” from the Barstool Sportsbook homepage. There are a couple of steps to complete.
  2. First, you’ll need to type in your email address and create a unique username and password.
  3. Next, you need to create two security questions and answers. These are used for account safety, and you can also choose whether you want to be asked one every time you log in.
  4. The final screen is all about your personal details. You’ll need to provide your name, full address, DOB, phone number, and four digits from your SSN. Remember that this information is used to verify your identity for security purposes, and won’t be shared with any third parties.
  5. Finally, you need to check some boxes to confirm your age, correct information, and that you accept the terms and conditions. When you’re ready, click “Accept and Continue” and you’re done!

Security and Gaming Licence

Barstool likely has designs on expanding around the US, it will be legal in Michigan, but for now, the sportsbook is only available in Pennsylvania. This is thanks in large part to a lucrative partnership with Penn National, who are also poised to become the majority owner of Barstool in upcoming years.

We expect Barstool Sportsbook to soon become legal in:

As a PA site, Barstool Sportsbook is fully licensed and regulated by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

Legal sports betting came to Pennsylvania in early 2019, and every single online sportsbook that operates in the state is required to have received a license from the Control Board. The license means that all Barstool Sportsbook’s activities and transactions are externally monitored, and your funds and data are protected.

Barstool is a brand new addition to the sports betting scene, so it doesn’t exactly have a long term reputation we can refer to. Nevertheless, our experts are entirely satisfied with all they have seen so far from a security point of view.

Customer Support

It might not get the headlines, but good customer support is often what separates a good sportsbook from a great one. Every bettor, whether highly experienced or totally green, is going to require help at some stage.

Barstool does a good job of providing plenty of support to its players. You can click the Contact Support button from the menu on the left side of the page to see all your options.

First of all, Barstool has a series of articles that you can search through using the search bar. The articles are useful, although the organization of them could do with a re-design. Our experts found it a little more difficult to find relevant articles than it needs to be.

We are massive fans of the live chat, however, which puts you in direct contact with a customer support agent. Our questions were answered immediately, and the staff is very friendly.

Players who think they or someone they know may have a gambling problem are encouraged to call 1-800-gambler for support.

Things Barstool Sportsbook Is Doing Right

We were genuinely excited to see what Barstool, with its years of experience in the entertainment industry, would bring to its sportsbook, and our experts found a lot to like. Despite only being available in a single state so far, Barstool Sportsbook certainly feels like one that has the potential to develop as a major player in the US.

Here are our highlights:

  • The bonuses and promotions are top class. Two separate bonus offers for new customers is going above and beyond, and the on-running promos are fun, creative, and genuinely valuable. We’re very impressed.
  • We like the platform a lot, which is clean and simple, and easy to use. There are no overpowering advertisements, which is something of a bugbear of ours. The Barstool Sportsbook app is similarly well designed.
  • All over the sportsbook, there are little touches that help make it feel unique – like the Quick Pick tool that suggests parlay legs, or the scrolling button for buying points.
  • The deposit methods and withdrawal options are as good as any of the other top sportsbooks: lots of accepted payment methods, fast processing times, no fees.
  • The range of sports and betting markets are both very good.

Things Barstool Sportsbook Could Work On

Unfortunately, no site is perfect. Our experts also came back with a few pointers for how Barstool online sportsbook could improve going forward.

  • We’d love to see some more versatility in the Live Betting section, like graphics displaying live updates and stats from the games. Live streaming would be another excellent addition.
  • The Customer Support section could do with a redesign. The articles themselves are generally very helpful, but they could be presented more effectively. We’d also like to see the Live Chat button available on the homepage.
  • We did notice that pages are sometimes a little slow to load, and the further you navigate away from the homepage and main markets the less smooth the navigation becomes.

Barstool Sportsbook Company History

Barstool was founded back in 2003 by Dave Portnoy as basically a sports and entertainment blog, with a particular interest in gambling and fantasy sports. Over the years the scope of the project grew, as it covered everything from politics to pop culture – all with its signature provocative style.

Barstool collaborated with a wide variety of figures from the world of entertainment, expanding its output to produce blogs, podcasts, video content, and more, building a strong social media presence.

The site has also gotten into trouble on a number of occasions over the years, thanks to its irreverent, boundary-pushing ethos – but its fanbase has remained very loyal.

January 2020 saw Penn National Gaming purchase a 36% stake in the company, which is expected to rise to more than 50% within three years. Later that year, Barstool Sportsbook launched in Pennsylvania, with the company taking its first official steps into the sports betting industry, after years of producing sports betting-adjacent content.

The Final Word on Barstool Sportsbook

It’s refreshing to see a genuinely new face in US sports betting. Although Barstool Sportsbook does have some novel twists, more than anything else it’s just a really solid sportsbook.

We really love the bonuses the team at Barstool have dreamed up, and signing up and depositing money couldn’t be easier. For the most part, we’re big fans of the software too, with room for a couple of tweaks in the layout here and there.

This is a great sportsbook for beginners, which is likely to be important when we consider that Barstool will be hoping to convert many of its long time fans to sports betting.

Our experts are feeling very positive about Barstool after our review, and we’re already looking forward to seeing the sportsbook become available in more states around the US.

Barstool Sportsbook FAQs

Is Barstool Sportsbook legal to bet with?
Can you bet on mobile with Barstool Sportsbook?
Do you have to be in Pennsylvania to bet with Barstool Sportsbook?
Does Barstool Sportsbook offer a no deposit bonus or free bets?
Does Barstool Sportsbook have good odds?

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Bill Krackomberger WSN Contributors

Bill Krackomberger

Sports Betting Analyst, Content Specialist & On-Air Host

Expertise:
Online Sports Betting
Online Casino
Billy “Krackman” Krackomberger has made his living as a professional sports gambler for nearly three decades. You have seen him on ESPN, Gaming Today, and SiriusXM. His connections in the sports gambling industry run all the way to the top. His bets move the lines and regularly have him banned from books for being too sharp.
Email: [email protected]
Nationality: American
Education: N/A
Favourite Sportsbook: FanDuel Sportsbook
Favourite Casino: Caesars Palace Casino
Experience: 30 years
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