ESPN today announced an agreement with PENN Entertainment to launch ESPN BET, a branded sportsbook for fans in the United States. PENN Entertainment will rebrand its current sportsbook and relaunch as ESPN BET, effective this Fall in the 16 legalized betting states where PENN Entertainment is licensed. The rebrand includes the mobile app, website, and mobile website.
ESPN BET furthers ESPN’s commitment to serve fans by leveraging ESPN’s industry-leading multi-platform reach with the rising product operations and expertise of PENN Entertainment. ESPN BET will become ESPN’s exclusive sportsbook, and PENN Entertainment will receive odds attribution, promotional services inclusive of digital product integrations, traditional media and content integrations, and ESPN talent access, among other services that collectively generate maximum fan awareness of ESPN BET.
“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,” said Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN. “The strategy here is simple: to give fans what they’ve been requesting and expecting from ESPN. PENN Entertainment is the perfect partner to build an unmatched user experience for sports betting with ESPN BET.”
Jay Snowden, Chief Executive Officer and President, PENN Entertainment said: “This agreement with ESPN and collaboration on ESPN BET allows us to take another step forward as an industry leader. Together, we can utilize each other’s strengths to create the type of experience that existing and new bettors will expect from both companies, and we can’t wait to get started.”
Over recent years, ESPN has increased multi-platform sports betting content, adding digital programming, radio segments, and editorial coverage from talent. ESPN BET is now the latest offering from ESPN to meet fan demand for a trusted brand in the sports betting space. The ESPN BET brand will be home to ESPN’s sports betting content across platforms.
In concert with PENN Entertainment’s comprehensive responsible gaming programming, ESPN will use its platforms to educate sports fans on responsible gaming, including but not limited to:
- Continuing ESPN’s high standard of journalistic integrity when covering the sports betting space.
- Developing an ESPN committee of responsible gaming, representative of a diverse cross-section of the business, to regularly review compliance, programming, and policies.
- Implementing responsible marketing policies and guidelines to safeguard fans.
- Working with industry experts on best practices and continual review of responsible gaming programming.
About ESPN
ESPN, the world’s leading multiplatform sports entertainment brand, features eight U.S. television networks, the leading sports app, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, leading social and digital platforms, ESPN.com, ESPN Audio, endeavors on every continent around the world, and more. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.
About PENN Entertainment
PENN Entertainment, Inc., together with its subsidiaries (“PENN,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us”), is North America’s leading provider of integrated entertainment, sports content, and casino gaming experiences. As of June 30, 2023, PENN operated 43 properties in 20 states, online sports betting in 17 jurisdictions and iCasino in five jurisdictions, under a portfolio of well-recognized brands including Hollywood Casino®, L’Auberge®, Barstool Sportsbook® and theScore Bet Sportsbook and Casino®. In August 2023, PENN entered into a transformative, exclusive long-term strategic alliance with ESPN, Inc. and ESPN Enterprises, Inc. (together, “ESPN”) relating to online sports betting within the United States. In the fall of 2023, the existing Barstool Sportsbook will be rebranded across all online platforms in the United States as ESPN Bet, and our online product will include a Hollywood-branded integrated iCasino where permitted. PENN’s ability to leverage the leading sports media brands in the United States (ESPN) and Canada (theScore) will position us to significantly expand our digital footprint and efficiently grow our customer ecosystem. This highly differentiated strategy, which is focused on organic cross-sell opportunities, is reinforced by our investment in market-leading retail casinos, sports media assets and technology, including a proprietary state-of-the-art, fully integrated digital sports and iCasino betting platform and an in-house iCasino content studio. PENN’s portfolio is further bolstered by our industry-leading PENN Play™customer loyalty program, which offers our approximately 27 million members a unique set of rewards and experiences across business channels.
Media Contacts:
ESPN
John Manzo – john.manzo@espn.com
Jay Jay Nesheim – jayjay.nesheim@espn.com
PENN Entertainment
Eric Schippers – eric.schippers@pennentertainment.com
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