One of the most recognizable sports media companies in the world, Barstool Sports was founded in 2003, focusing on the intersection of sports and pop culture. However, in 2020, the company expanded into sports betting, launching its first book in Pennsylvania.
Since then, it expanded to Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the reason for today’s review, Arizona. However, it closed and rebranded to ESPN Bet in November 2023.
In this Barstool Sportsbook review, we’ll go over how you could get started betting with the sportsbook, discuss what you could expect when signing up, and rate the operator as a whole.
No, Barstool Sportsbook is not legal in Arizona. The state legalized sports betting in April 2021, consequently giving the green light to operators to launch their betting sites. Barstool went live in September of the same year after obtaining an operating license from the Arizona Department of Gaming, but then closed in November 2023.
Registering at Barstool Arizona was a quick and simple process. Most users were done in 10 minutes max. Here are the steps you needed to take:
Barstool AZ rotated through its bonus offerings throughout the year, often changing its promotions to match the sports that were in season. Here are some of the common Arizona sportsbook bonuses you could expect to see.
Before you made a decision to sign up at Barstool Arizona, you should have considered its advantages and disadvantages. Here are a few pros and cons to have kept in mind.
Pros
Barstool Sportsbook AZ’s payment methods fell in line with other operators in the state. There were conversations about expanding into accepting cryptocurrency for transactions, though this feature was only available in Colorado and Virginia.
There was a $10 minimum for all transactions, regardless of method. Here are the payment methods you could choose from:
Deposit
You could reach Barstool customer service in Arizona through a variety of channels, but the expansive FAQ section was able to answer your questions without needing to go through any of them. Support topics were separated into six categories: Account Information, Responsible Gaming, How to Bet, Legal, Deposits and Withdrawals, and PENN Play Rewards.
If you couldn't find what you needed there, Barstool had a support chat, a callback option, and an email option available in the browser and in-app. While we hope you didn't find yourself in a position where you need support to address an issue, Barstool’s team should have been able to address it quickly and capably.
Barstool Sportsbook was a solid option for Arizona sports bettors looking to take a break from the DFS scene. The operator committed to being a “disruptor” among more traditional sportsbooks and we were intrigued to see how that continued to play out.
One thing in particular we appreciated was the rewards program which awarded points for every $10 bet on non-parlays and every $5 bet on parlays. Rewards could include betting credits/bonus bets, restaurants, travel, hotels, shopping, in-person and online gaming bonuses, and more.
The Android app user experience definitely needed work and was one of the bigger pain points of the bookmaker overall.
