Barstool Sportsbook won’t be coming to Phoenix Raceway any time soon, if ever.
NASCAR managing director of sports betting Joe Solosky told Gaming Today that a legal sports betting retail location inside the track that hosts a pair of Cup Series events doesn’t make financial sense for PENN Entertainment, the parent company of Barstool.
While Phoenix Raceway also hosts ARCA, Craftsman Truck, and Xfinity Series races, its contract to host one of the Cup’s championship events ends after the 2024 race, leaving questions about there being enough going on at the track to sustain a brick-and-mortar location.
Solosky said talks between NASCAR and PENN have quieted down in the last year. If Phoenix Raceway can get more foot traffic and events, it could reheat those conversations.
“I think that’s when the market economics would make sense for someone like a PENN to invest in a retail sportsbook,” Solosky told Gaming Today. “As a partner, we’re not going to rush someone into building something that would not make economic sense and hurt the partnership.”
Barstool became the official sportsbook of Phoenix Raceway after a 10-year partnership was formed in July 2021. Construction for an on-site sportsbook never began.
A sports betting area
Putting retail locations inside Phoenix-area venues has been a popular theme.
Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, is partnered with Caesars, which operates a retail sportsbook next door to the stadium. The Footprint Center, where the Phoenix Suns and Mercury play, holds a FanDuel brick-and-mortar shop while fans attending NFL games at the Cardinals’ can place wagers through BetMGM inside State Farm Stadium.
DraftKings has a partnership with the PGA Tour that will bring an upscale, on-site sportsbook to the TPC Stadium Course, home of the Waste Management Open. It’s currently under construction.
Operator success in Arizona
While PENN continues to evaluate where it should open up shop, this state has proven profitable for operators. Legal sports betting brought Arizona $644 million in handle for March, making it the fifth time in six months that the Grand Canyon State has eclipsed $500 million in wagers.
March ranked as the second-best-ever reported handle, only eclipsed by the same month in 2022. Mobile sports betting giants FanDuel and DraftKings combined to take in over $400 million in wagers.
Arizona’s 17 operators hauled in $37.1 million in revenue in March as well.
