• ESPN will begin offering sports betting services to its millions of users
• The lead broadcaster for the NBA, NCAA football, UFC, and other sports properties will integrate betting into their broadcasts
• PENN Entertainment will rebrand their existing sportsbook and will be called ‘ESPN BET’
Sports and betting have had a contentious relationship, but we seem to be entering a golden age of sports betting where it’s more accessible than ever. While companies like DraftKings led the way for a digital revolution in sports betting, established players are coming into the space now.
ESPN will be launching its own sportsbook called ‘ESPN BET’ in Fall 2023, in partnership with PENN Entertainment. ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro revealed why ESPN made this move, via press release.
“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. 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.”
ESPN has entered an agreement with @PENNEntertain to launch ESPN BET, a branded sportsbook in the U.S.
ESPN BET will be available for fans this fall
Details: https://t.co/evaUbfn5Nh pic.twitter.com/UqIkME4Lyk
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) August 8, 2023
There should be some ethical concerns when a lead sports broadcaster and news house can directly cause betting lines to swing due to reporting. The nature of sports news is often very speculative in nature, so there will be some concerns from fans about ESPN’s news coverage directly impacting the lines on ESPN BET.
Is This A Good Move For ESPN?
Financially, ESPN is going to make a lot of money with this deal. The ease of betting that ESPN can provide is incredible, given how established they already are. Given they also broadcast live games for major sports leagues, they can create an unmatched in-app betting experience where fans can make live bets on the same app they’re watching the game.
Regulatory bodies should keep an eye on this, as ESPN can swing betting lines with one news report. Shams Charania caused a huge betting line swing by reporting that Scoot Henderson could go second in the 2023 NBA Draft on a show that’s operated by FanDuel.
This incident showed the need for stringent rules about betting platforms directly reporting news that could cause major swings, especially if the news is referring to rumor and innuendo, as it did with Shams earlier in the offseason.
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