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ESPN revealed it has teamed up with Penn Entertainment to open its own sports betting business. It was reported that Disney’s sports entertainment unit signed a $2 billion deal for this.
ESPN will now have a betting sportsbook which is expected to put it deeper into the world of sports betting. Through the partnership with Penn Entertainment, a leading gambling company, it will rebrand and relaunch its sportsbook under the “ESPN Bet” banner.
As per CNBC, ESPN Bet will take over the gambling firm’s Barstool Sportsbook to become the sole operator of the betting platform. Penn Entertainment also sold Barstool back to its original owner, David Portnoy.
In any case, the deal with Penn Entertainment will give ESPN a new revenue channel as its traditional TV business wanes. This will also allow its parent company, Disney Company, to increase cash flow as it loses money on its Disney Plus streaming unit.
“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’s chairman, Jimmy Pitaro, said in a press release. “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.”
Penn Entertainment’s chief executive officer, Jay Snowden, went on to add, “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.”
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