Barstool Sports Building its Kansas Speedway Facility in time for NFL Season

• Barstool Sports will Become First to Build a Sports Betting Facility at a NASCAR Track 
• Goal is for Barstool Kiosks to take Wagers by the NFL’s Sept 8 Start to 2022 Season
• Tax Revenue from Kansas Sports Betting to Fund Attracting Pro Sports to Kansas

As Kansas is racing to beat its closest state neighbour, Missouri, to the legal sports betting finish line, Barstool Sports will join them by building a temporary facility at Kansas Speedway timed to finish just as the regulatory process there wraps up and legal bets can finally be taken.

Most online gamblers are familiar with Barstool Sports, a U.S. blog website and digital media company that makes its home in New York City, their controversial founder David Portnoy a common sight online as he does his snarky pizza reviews as ‘Davey Pageviews.’

It’s a good move all around, and Rick Skinner, general manager of the Hollywood Casino at the speedway, calls it a “great catalyst for the entire region,” certainly for the nearby non-betting Missouri, home to plenty of sports gamblers whose action will be welcome in Kansas:

This year, Kansas saw fit to pass sports wagering and Missouri did not, which puts our property in an advantageous position to not only welcome our friends from across Kansas, but also across Missouri. It puts a highlight on the Kansas side of the state line because we’ll have a monopoly on it until Missouri decides to act. This will boost not only the speedway and our casino but the Legends, Sporting KC and the entire area.

Barstool is trying to get something up and running before the lucrative NFL season gets started.

Goal is for Barstool Kiosks to take Wagers by the NFL’s Sept 8 Start to 2022 Season

Half of all sports bets made in the U.S. are related to the NFL, so it makes sense that the start of its regular season on Thursday, September 8 is seen as a deadline to the Kansas sports gambling market operating, with delays potentially costing all players millions of dollars.

Even the racecar people know that, as NASCAR spokesman Matt Humphreys makes clear in a recent statement where he connects the success of the Barstool sportsbook with his industry’s success, saying:

If this opens up for the NFL’s opening game, there will be people coming in maybe for the first time who see the Speedway and want to come back for the weekend. This is just a great way to get new eyeballs on the sport, and that’s really cool.

The Speedway and Barstool will partner up to create online and in-person betting platforms that resident bettors can use, and they will be competing with the casinos and native tribes where that same activity will be taking place.

The revenue involved could be astronomical, but right now it’s earmarked for a special purpose.

Tax Revenue from Kansas Sports Betting to Fund Attracting Pro Sports to Kansas

While some of the over thirty other U.S. states where sports betting has already been made legal spend the tax revenue that market generates for the state to fund programs that benefit residents in terms of education, infrastructure, and help with addictive behavior.

In Kansas, however, that money will go to fund attracting pro sports teams to that state, a goal that began back in March when the Kansas City Chiefs hinted that they might be interested in moving some day.

Now Kansas has a huge head start when it comes to making sports betting revenue, an enticer for any pro team looking to financially compete in the modern era.