Illinois offers sports bettors seven legal sportsbooks to choose from, including industry giants DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesar's. However, none of these has an established content universe like Barstool Sports. If you like the gambling content produced by Dave Portnoy, Big Cat, and other Barstool personalities, you'll love placing your bets with the Barstool Sportsbook Illinois.
In this review, you'll learn everything you need to know about the sportsbook, from the generous welcome offer for new users to the capabilities of its state-of-the-art app. Read on to decide if it's for you.
Barstool Sports will soon see big changes as it rebrands to ESPN BET. A complex bit of corporate restructuring means that Dave Portney has bought back Barstool from PENN Entertainment. Meanwhile PENN Entertainment has struck a huge partnership deal with ESPN.
The new brand will launch in the Fall after the appropriate regulatory approvals are in place. Jay Snowden, Chief Executive Officer and President, PENN Entertainment said:
“This agreement with ESPN and collaboration on ESPN BET allows us to take another step forward as an industry leader. Together, we can utilize each other’s strengths to create the type of experience that existing and new bettors will expect from both companies, and we can’t wait to get started.”
ESPN’s long term intention is to find ways to integrate betting into its fan experience so that you don’t have to leave ESPN in order to place your sports bets. Expect new technology and some fantastic new ESPN BET promotions as these two companies pour marketing money into making the business a success.
Until the re-brand Barstool has paused all new player promotions. Meanwhile we suggest you try BetMGM Illinois which offers a superb sportsbook and casino offer. Check out our BetMGM Illinois Sportsbook review here or click on the banner ads on this page to get straight into the action!
Barstool Illinois Sportsbook has paused all welcome offers until the Fall. Check back then for a great welcome promotion.
Barstool Illinois Sportsbook has paused all welcome offers until the Fall. Check back then for a great welcome promotion.
To begin online registration for a Barstool Sportsbook account, first make sure you meet all eligibility requirements, including being physically present in a state where Barstool sportsbook is legal.
Step 1 - Visit the Barstool Sportsbook website or download the mobile app from the Apple or Android app store.
Step 2 - Create a new account by clicking on the "sign up" button. Signing up will require you to submit some personal information, such as the last four digits of your Social Security number. You also may need to verify your identity by uploading specified documentation.
Step 3 - Enter the Barstool Sportsbook Illinois promo code (if applicable) and deposit a minimum of $10.
Step 4 - Start betting with the Barstool Sportsbook.
Barstool Illinois Sportsbook has paused all welcome offers until the Fall. Check back then for a great welcome promotion.
Barstool Sportsbook mobile app offers a variety of other bonus bets. One regular featured promotion offered by the Barstool sportsbook Illinois is Parlay+, which allows bettors to combine multiple bets within the same game or across different sports into one bet.
The Barstool Sportsbook Illinois also regularly offers event-specific promotions for major sports events, such as the NBA Finals and major local sporting events involving the Bulls, Bears, Cubs, Blackhawks and White Sox. Usually, those promotions involve a bonus bet or odds boosts on major events geared toward getting Illinois sportsbook customers interested in continuing to bet with Barstool.
Welcome bonuses are specifically designed to bring new users to online sports betting platforms like the Barstool Sportsbook. Users downloading and creating an account on sports betting apps for the first time will oftentimes receive site credit or bonus bets. When you're choosing an online sportsbook to place your first wager with, it's important to consider what they offer for a welcome bonus.
Odds boosts give users an incentive to place certain special bets with an online sportsbook. Certain wagers, often multi-leg parlays, will have better odds than the sports betting market in order to incentivize gamblers to continue betting with the sportsbook. On the Barstool Sportsbook Illinois, these odds boosts will usually be attached to big games involving local teams like the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Bears.
Many sportsbooks offer referral bonuses as another way to bring in new users. Current online gamblers can provide a referral code to prospective online sportsbook users when they sign up and receive bonus bets or bonus cash as a reward. The refer-a-friend bonus is a classic way online sportsbooks attract new customers and build loyalty with their current users.
The Barstool Sportsbook Illinois welcome offer represents a common example of first-bet insurance. In this instance, new gamblers get the chance to have their first bet refunded in bonus cash up to $1,000 if it's a losing wager. Sportsbooks commonly offer first-bet insurance to help new users feel comfortable betting with them and continue betting after their first experience.
Whenever you're opting into a promotion on an online sportsbook, it's important to consult the terms and conditions associated with the offer. The terms and conditions detail the rules that apply to the offer including player eligibility, the wagering requirements and bonus expiration.
The Barstool Sportsbook Illinois offers Illinois sports bettors a wide variety of different bet types to cash in on. From parlays and props to live bets and futures bets, users have tons of betting options to choose from with the Barstool Sportsbook. Below is a breakdown of the various bet types the sportsbook offers.
Live betting offers Barstool Sportsbook Illinois users a chance to make in-game bets. Sometimes, you are watching a game, and you get an inkling about an angle that hadn't occurred to you before the contest began. Live betting markets let gamblers take advantage of in-game lines and instantaneously react to what they're watching. Live betting lines are usually slightly less favorable for gamblers to reflect the inherent advantage of being able to bet in real-time.
Cash-out options allow gamblers a sort of betting insurance on their ongoing wagers. Users of the Barstool Sportsbook Illinois sometimes will have the option to cash out of their ongoing wagers after they place them and before the bets resolve. The amount available to cash out will always be a proportion of your wager reflective of how the game suggests the bet is going. The deeper you get into a game, the closer the cash-out amount changes in accordance to the likely outcome.
Sometimes you don't have a strong feeling about a spread, moneyline or over/under, but you feel good about the likelihood of a smaller outcome. Game props, including player statistics over/unders, final score predictions and more, mostly cover those smaller outcomes. Game props can carry a wide range of odds, from right around even to the potential for big payouts, depending on the chosen prop.
Parlays are among the most popular common type of bets featured in online sports betting. Parlays allow bettors to combine multiple bets into one bet with better odds. For a parlay to hit, every leg in the parlay must be marked a winner. Standard parlay bets usually can't combine elements from the same sporting event with one exception: the Same-Game Parlay (SPG).
Same-game parlays allow Prairie State gamblers to combine multiple bets and prop bets within the same game into one bet. These parlays usually have 2-5 legs and big potential payouts for bettors. Same-game parlays are usually featured offerings for online sportsbooks like the Barstool Sportsbook Illinois because they're difficult to win despite having attractive odds. These bets are best utilized when you have a really strong feeling about a particular contest.
Futures bets are best for the patient gambler, as they rarely pay out in a short amount of time. Common types of future bets include betting on a team to win a championship or division, betting on a player to win an award and prop bets like season-long player statistics or team win total over/unders. These bets should be treated more as investments than wagers, as they don't pay out for a while but have the potential to pay out significantly down the road.
The Barstool Sportsbook app is among the highest-rated app on the market. The app gets positive reviews and draws praise for featuring a wide variety of sports, bet types and promotional bets. The Barstool Sportsbook app is also regarded highly for security and customer support. It bears mentioning that the Barstool Sportsbook is much more highly rated on the Apple app store than on the Android App Store.
To get started using the Barstool Sportsbook, visit your app store of choice and download the app. Before signing up and making a deposit, check out some reviews from customers.
🗣"Overall solid betting website"
🗣"Best Sportsbook app"
🗣"Barstool Sportsbook has great potential"
🗣"App works fine"
🗣"Never had a problem with it"
🗣"App needs to get up to date with technology"
Barstool Sports was founded in 2003 by Dave Portnoy. Portnoy started the media company as a sports, gambling and culture newspaper he would hand out himself in Boston before taking Barstool online in 2007. Barstool Sports' popularity skyrocketed over the next few years, as Portnoy and his colleagues used an outsider's mentality to become more and more mainstream in the sports media landscape.
In 2016, Barstool Sports, which had outgrown its Milton, Massachusetts roots, received a major cash infusion from The Chernin Group, an investment firm that purchased 51% of the company. Barstool moved its headquarters to New York City and rapidly expanded as a result. Barstool continued to grow under the Chernin umbrella, which culminated in Penn National Gaming buying a significant stake in the company in 2020.
Penn National Gaming accelerated Barstool's ascent in the sports gambling space, leading to the introduction of the Barstool Sportsbook in Pennsylvania in late 2020. The Barstool Sportsbook has since expanded into more than a dozen states, including capitalizing on legal online sports betting in Illinois beginning in 2021. The Barstool Sportsbook also partners with retail casinos in states where it's available, including the Hollywood Casino Aurora and Hollywood Casino Joliet in Illinois.
Penn National Gaming became the majority owner of Barstool Sports in early 2023 and has plans to continue to grow the brand in the sports betting space through the Barstool Sportsbook.
National online sports betting juggernauts like DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook and Caesars Sportsbook are considered the industry leaders in Illinois, mostly because of their brand recognition and high-quality apps. While the Barstool Sportsbook doesn't have the national profile of some of these operators, it provides value in ways that make it a worthy competitor.
While these other sportsbooks also boast a strong stable of promotions and bonus bets, no Illinois sportsbook boasts promos and bonuses quite like the Barstool Sportsbook Illinois. Barstool ties promotional bets to Barstool-sponsored personalities and employs shareable bet slips to give gamblers the feeling that they're betting along with their favorite content creators. Combine that unique experience with a quality app and available bonus bets on almost every sport you can imagine, and Barstool boasts an online sportsbook offering capable of competing with the big-name books in Illinois.
Dave Portnoy founded Barstool Sports in 20 years ago, and he has remained the face of the company, especially as they've ingrained themselves in the online sports betting world. Portnoy has also made a name for himself by bringing engaging personalities to Barstool Sports who help boost visibility for the sportsbook.
In Illinois, Dan "Big Cat" Katz is the most prominent Barstool personality. Katz is one of the internet's foremost diehard Chicago sports fans and started the Barstool Chicago office early in Barstool's rise. Since then, he's gone national and has become Barstool's signature gambling personality, known for his image as a lovable loser when it comes to sports betting.
With Big Cat in New York, the Barstool Chicago office has been primarily helmed by the personalities from the Dog Walk podcast, including Eddie, Chief and White Sox Dave.
The Barstool Sportsbook has a physical presence at two retail sportsbooks in Illinois and another in the Chicago area just across the border in Indiana.
One of the Barstool Sportsbook's retail sportsbook locations in Illinois is the Hollywood Casino in Aurora, located a short drive west of Chicago. Featuring the Penalty Box Sportsbook and Bar, the casino is located at 1 W New York St in Aurora.
The other Hollywood Casino in the extended Chicago suburbs, the Hollywood Casino Joliet is located a little ways southwest of the big city. The Barstool Sportsbook is located inside the casino at 777 Hollywood Blvd in Joliet.
The Ameristar East Chicago is a part of the Greater Chicago area but is technically located across state lines in East Chicago, Indiana. Despite not being physically in Illinois, it's as close to Chicago as any other casino with the Barstool Sportsbook, located at 777 Aldis Ave, East Chicago, Indiana.
When it comes to depositing and withdrawing funds from an online betting app, having multiple online banking options can make all the difference. Gamblers store and move money in all sorts of different ways, and sports betting apps like the Barstool Sportsbook Illinois aim to meet customers where their money is.
The following sections deal with depositing and withdrawing money from the Barstool Sportsbook app and website.
When depositing funds with the Barstool Sportsbook Illinois, new and existing customers can utilize many of the standard payment methods common in everyday transactions. These methods include credit and debit cards, including Visa, MasterCard and Discover, and ACH checks and other electronic fund transfers.
In addition, Barstool Sportsbook allows users to deposit funds using common digital wallets, most notably PayPal. Other accepted methods include PayNearMe and Play+. Apple Pay is also an accepted method, but a recent update to the iOS app eliminated that compatibility, so the status of that method is up in the air. It's also worth nothing that Barstool Sportsbook doesn't allow the use of cryptocurrency.
The Barstool Sportsbook offers plenty of withdrawal options, similar to the variety of options available for depositing funds. One of the best parts of Barstool's withdrawal options is that you can use a different method to withdraw funds than you used to deposit them.
Withdrawing funds from the Barstool Sportsbook app is generally quite easy and fast. Transaction speeds are typically instantaneous using digital wallets. When using more standard transaction methods like electronic funds transfers and credit and debit cards, transactions typically take 24 to 48 hours.
The Barstool Sportsbook includes a customer support tab that links externally to a different URL with support articles, including FAQs on account information, deposits and withdrawals and responsible gaming. The FAQ section is fully searchable and contains dozens of articles. If the FAQs don't do the trick, a contact us link takes you to a page where you can start a live chat with support, send an email or request a callback.
The Barstool Sportsbook Illinois offers sports bettors in the Prairie State a unique online betting experience, one that the big national names like DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesar's sportsbooks can't provide because they lack the sports media empire that Barstool Sports represents.
Promotional bets like the Barstool Sportsbook Illinois welcome offer aren't uncommon across the sports betting industry, but Barstool can offer bets associated with personalities you're familiar with who provide wager recommendations. That sort of local familiarity is one of the main attributes that set the Barstool Sportsbook apart from other online sportsbooks in Illinois.
The Barstool Sportsbook app is another highlight. It offers an outstanding user experience and covers a wide range of sports and bet types. The sportsbook also offers quality security and customer service. All in all, the Barstool Sportsbook is among the best sportsbooks available to Illinois sports bettors.
Great though it is, we cannot recommend Barstool until it rebrands as ESPN BET with new welcome promotions.
The Barstool Sportsbook Illinois is committed to responsible gambling. The sportsbook contains a section dedicated to responsible gambling and patron protection. The sportsbook's responsible gambling policies and guidelines are modeled after the American Gaming Association's Code of Conduct for Responsible Gaming. It also contains tools to set limits and resources designed to help those who think they might have a gambling problem.
Yes, the Barstool Sportsbook is now legal in Illinois. To place wagers, bettors can use the sportsbook through the Barstool Sportsbook app or visit one of three Illinois casinos associated with the sportsbook.
The Barstool Sportsbook launched in Illinois in early 2021.
Yes, Barstool is legit, and the Barstool Sportsbook is backed by public gambling company Penn National Gaming.
Dave Portnoy founded Barstool in 2003. In 2020, Penn National Gaming bought a significant stake in Barstool and founded the Barstool Sportsbook. As of 2023, the Barstool Sportsbook is legal in more than a dozen states.
The Barstool Sportsbook boasts a high-quality app and a host of unique promotional opportunities. It's among the best online sportsbooks available in Illinois.
Author
Patrick is a second-year MBA student at Seattle University. He majored in journalism at Marquette University. Seattle sports are his passion.
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