The biggest U.S. sports broadcaster is plowing money into the lucrative gambling industry, launching an online betting platform that will initially be available in 17 states.
ESPN has partnered with Penn Entertainment, a provider of sports content and casino gaming experiences that previously launched the Barstool Sports sportsbook, to create a betting service called ESPN Bet. The platform began accepting registrations Thursday, but still needs approval from each state’s gaming commission.
ESPN is getting into the sports betting business as parent company Disney seeks to boost profits across the entertainment giant. But while gambling has exploded as more states legalize it, the station has lost ground to entrenched competitors such as DraftKings and FanDuel, which control about 80% of the online sports betting market. You will have to face it.
“We believe ESPN and Penn can penetrate this market,” Villanova University sports business professor Andrew Brandt told CBS MoneyWatch. “They want it to be like one-stop shopping where you go to check the scores and the betting opinions are there. They think they can offer a better product.”
The first states to offer ESPN Bet are:
- arizona
- colorado
- illinois
- Indiana
- iowa
- Kansas
- kentucky
- louisiana
- maryland
- Massachusetts
- michigan
- new jersey
- Ohio
- pennsylvania
- tennessee
- Virginia
- west virginia
The creation of ESPN BET is a strategic move for both Penn and ESPN. The station hopes to grow revenue by serving sports betting enthusiasts, and Penn was looking for a new sports betting partner after dissolving its partnership with Barstool, Brandt said. .
At stake for both companies is gaining a piece of the rapidly growing sports gambling industry. Earnings at DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars Sportsbook, and BetMGM soared during the pandemic More fans with time on their hands started placing bets. These companies have gained momentum in recent years as more states legalized online sports gambling.
$100 billion stake
Online sports betting is now legal in 27 states, and Americans are expected to bet more than $100 billion on the hobby this year, according to the American Gaming Association.
“It’s a fertile, albeit saturated market,” Brandt said. “Now that sports betting has become legal and mainstream, it is becoming a way to really reach young people.”
Despite ESPN’s history of covering sports, it’s a relative latecomer to betting. Most existing sports betting companies set up shop within a few months of being founded. Supreme Court Judgment In 2018, a federal law banning gambling on football, basketball, baseball, and other sports was repealed. Sporting goods company Fanatics also launched an online sportsbook in August.
growth sports betting Some addiction experts are concerned. Some, like NCAA President Charlie Baker, are concerned about how sports betting will affect college athletics.
Baker recently told CBS News that there can be intense pressure on student-athletes to perform well in college sports because family and friends bet on contests.
“The fact that it’s on your phone [and] We can do it whenever we want, and it’s a real challenge not only for us but for our student-athletes,” Baker told CBS News earlier this month.