ESPN BET Launch Date
PENN Entertainment, Inc. announced on Thursday they plan to simultaneously launch ESPN BET on Nov. 14 across 17 states for online sports wagering, subject to final approvals. PENN struck a deal with ESPN in August to create the sports betting app.
“This strategic alliance is expected to further expand our digital ecosystem and drive re-engagement with the millions of customers in our digital and retail databases, leading to compelling cross-sell opportunities,” Jay Snowden said on Thursday, chief executive officer and president at PENN Entertainment.
As part of the deal, PENN will pay ESPN $1.5 billion in cash over 10 years, as well as grant ESPN $500 million of warrants to purchase approximately 31.8 million common shares of PENN. Meanwhile, PENN will rebrand its current Barstool Sportsbook into a new mobile app and website known as ESPN BET.
In September, Snowden gave some insight on how the switch from Barstool to ESPN will happen for customers.
Snowden said when the app goes live, customers will get an alert that they need to update their Barstool Sportsbook app. Once the update is complete it will change from Barstool to ESPN BET. This change will occur in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
“We had a lot of early success with Barstool Sportsbook,” Snowden said in September during a fireside chat at a Bank of America Securities 2023 Gaming and Lodging Conference in New York. “But retention can only be so strong if your product is not competitive. We really need to lead with a brand that has the reach that has the equity and honestly, also has access to crazed fans, including their yearlong fantasy sports database, which is over 10 million people. We expect to be able to compete for the top spot over time.”
The planned launch of ESPN BET is prior to Thanksgiving’s busy sports calendar that includes the NCAA college football rivalry week and the Super Bowl rematch of the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles televised on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.
ESPN BET will have a wide array of betting options for customers including quick bets and micro-markets.
In connection with the launch, ESPN’s TV show “Daily Wager” will be rebranded as “ESPN Bet Live.” The new show will start Nov. 10.
Snowden announced the ESPN BET launch date during the company’s third-quarter financial results conference on Thursday.
Third Quarter Notes
PENN Entertainment is one of the largest providers of gaming entertainment in North America. The company manages 43 brick-and-mortar locations, a mix of casinos, racetracks, online gaming, and sports betting.
“We continued to see relative strength in several locations, including our casinos in Ohio, Kansas, Massachusetts, and Missouri, which highlights the benefits of our geographically diversified portfolio of premier regional gaming assets and the addition of retail sports betting offerings at many of our properties. Third quarter Interactive segment results reflect curtailed marketing in the U.S. as we prepared to transition our online sportsbook to the ESPN BET brand.”
With the recent launch of the company’s enhanced customer loyalty program, PENN Play, they have continued to drive database growth and customer engagement.
“Our database now has over 27 million members, with approximately 40% of our growth for the quarter coming from our online offerings,” Snowden said. “Our continued investments in technology to improve the customer journey has led to 2.2 million app downloads.”
PENN has also been rolling out its cashless technology for brick-and-mortar casinos.
The company’s cashless, cardless and contactless technology is now deployed at 21 properties, with more on the way, resulting in approximately $225 million in deposits into the PENN Wallet.
