Last week at the Global Gaming Expo, we got an update on the launch of ESPN Bet. The CEO’s of Penn Entertainment and ESPN provided details on the sports betting project, and confirmation that there are still plans to have the app up and running by next month.
The companies originally announced this as a rebranding of the Barstool Sportsbook as the ESPN Bet app back in August of this year. That’s also when Penn ended its ownership of Barstool and returned it back to the founder, Dave Portnoy. An agreement based on Penn paying ESPN $1.5 billion over a 10 year span. ESPN will have the option of purchasing over 30 million shares of Penn stock worth $500 million.
“Our primary focus is always to serve sports fans and we know they want both betting content and the ability to place bets with less friction from within our products,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said. “The strategy here is simple: to give fans what they’ve been requesting and expecting from ESPN.”
ESPN Bet is set to roll out in the states where Penn is licensed.That includes Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
While And while ESPN is now entering the sports betting market, they will not block other operators from advertising with them. And if they can get the app in the hands of bettors before Thanksgiving, they will be able to take advantage of the last several weeks of the NFL season as well as playoff games.