ESPN Bet Launch
ESPN Bet officially launched on Tuesday in 17 states and comes after Penn Entertainment announced a $2 billion licensing deal with the sports network in August. Penn is not only launching the platform, but also is embracing a strategy the company used with its theScore betting app in Canada.
That includes offering a complete sports media ecosystem with scores, videos, articles, and more. Players then don’t have to leave this environment to make a wager. It’s a similar strategy also followed by Sky Bet in the United Kingdom, and Penn officials are hoping that this helps “the worldwide leader in sports” gain market share on major operators like DraftKings and FanDuel.
“We don’t see any of the competitors in Ontario, or in the U.S., that have really focused on this deep integration between sports media and sports betting,” PENN CEO Jay Snowden told Front Office Sports. “I think we’ve got it to a point in Ontario where it’s pretty frictionless. You don’t know when you’re in theScore media app and you’re populating a bet slip … and we envision getting there very quickly here in the U.S. with ESPN.”
A Complete Integrated Sports Experience
Whether that strategy will work or not remains to be seen. Technically, the launch of ESPN Bet is actually a transition from the former Barstool Sports app. The company sold the popular sports lifestyle brand back to founder Dave Portnoy as part of the deal with ESPN.
That move allows Penn to hit the ground running with the addition of ESPN. The platform will immediately be available in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
As part of the launch, two million former Barstool app users will be emailed to download ESPN Bet. But Penn is also hoping deep integration and promotion via ESPN also helps grow the customer base. The app allows players to engage with sports well beyond betting, and Penn hopes those users also become bettors as well. Some industry insiders believe there are still opportunities for others to gain market share.
“People that think this battle has been fought and won are way ahead of where I think the market is,” ESPN’s former chief executive Steve Bornstein told the Financial Times. “Obviously there are some very dominant players . . . but we’re still in the go-go growth stage, the market is not calcified.”
Challenges Ahead
While Penn is betting big on ESPN, other industry insiders have pointed to some major obstacles the two companies face. Beyond the industry leaders, DraftKings and FanDuel, there are also several other major players such as BetMGM and Caesars.
Another new operator has entered the market as well with another unique integrated approach. Fanatics, one of the country’s leaders in sports team apparel and merchandise, acquired PointsBet’s American operations in May for $225 million. Fanatics can now be used to bet in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia – and the company has plans to enter other markets in the coming months. Some critics have said ESPN waited too long to take advantage of its position with many online sportsbooks beating Penn and the network to the punch.
Some believe ESPN missed the boat as others have already become more established. To promote the platform, Penn has agreed to spend $150 million a year in marketing. The company also has the ability to cross-promote the app with 40 Penn casinos around the country. But will this be enough to crack the market share grip held by others in the industry? That remains to be seen.
U.S. Reaches A Decade of Online Gaming
This year marks the 10-year anniversary of online casino gaming officially launching in some legalized U.S. states. iGaming became a reality in the American market in 2013 when Delaware went live followed by New Jersey in the same year.
The new industry also allowed online poker to return to the U.S. in a state-by-state approach and Nevada also began allowing iPoker in 2013 as well. Along with Delaware, New Jersey, and Nevada, other U.S. states offering online gaming (not including sports betting) now include: Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Connecticut. Rhode Island also legalizes online gaming in June and is expected to go live in 2024.
iGaming supporters argue that the industry has been a winning bet for legalized states and some of the benefits include:
- Tens of thousands of additional jobs, including many in the high-tech sector
- Billions of dollars in tax revenue for education, infrastructure, public safety, education, senior citizen and disability programs, and more
- Protections and resources to help problem gamblers
- A barrier against offshore, illegal online gambling platforms, and sweepstakes casinos
