IT’S LIVE! ESPN BET Launches in 17 States
The long-awaited launch of ESPN BET, the highly anticipated legal sports betting brand in the United States, has finally arrived. ESPN, known as “The Worldwide Leader in Sports,” officially launched ESPN BET at 3:45 PM ET on Tuesday, November 14th in 17 states. This new brand is expected to challenge top sportsbooks like FanDuel and DraftKings for dominance in the market.
While there were some minor issues on launch day, the majority of users saw their Barstool Underscoreg accounts smoothly transition to ESPN BET. Additionally, new users received generous bonuses. By the end of the day, all glitches were resolved and the platform was running seamlessly.
ESPN successfully entered the expanding U.S. legal sports betting market, achieving its goal with a rapid launch just in time for Week 11 of the NFL season. This timing will allow ESPN BET to capitalize on the highly anticipated Super Bowl rematch between the Eagles and Chiefs, as well as the Thanksgiving slate of NFL games. The platform will have the opportunity to grow and evolve before the peak betting seasons of the Super Bowl and March Madness dominate the American sports landscape.
Where did ESPN BET launch?
ESPN Bet went live in 17 states across America by mid-afternoon, including all PENN Entertainment jurisdictions where Barstool Sports was previously available. Despite initially being a holdout, even Massachusetts eventually embraced the idea of an ESPN Bet platform, which officially launched on Tuesday.
Currently, ESPN BET bettors in the listed jurisdictions will have access to America’s latest premium sports betting brand.
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- New Jersey
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- West Virginia
It is likely that PENN and ESPN will be keeping a close watch on additional jurisdictions in the coming years.
The relatively short road to launch
ESPN, owned by Disney, has been involved in sports wagering for a long time, providing daily odds and wagering content for every game they cover across all their media platforms, such as ESPN.com and SportsCenter. The introduction of ESPN BET is a natural progression for the company.
It wasn’t until August that the company made a significant move into the legal sports betting market. On the 8th of the month, they finalized a game-changing $1.5 billion licensing agreement with PENN Entertainment, who had previously been partnered with Barstool Underscoreg. Barstool had not met PENN’s expectations.
After three months, ESPN BET has officially launched, offering an opportunity to quickly establish a presence in the fiercely competitive U.S. sports betting industry.
Stiff competition
With the abundance of competition in the U.S. legal sports betting market, PENN Entertainment and the ESPN BET brand should see immediate returns thanks to ESPN’s reported audience of 370 million and 25 million subscribers to ESPN+.
FanDuel and DraftKings are at risk of losing the most with the launch of ESPN BET. As the top players in the industry, they must be cautious of the spotlight that ESPN will shine on the latest addition to the American sports betting market.
Should FanDuel and DraftKings be worried? Absolutely. ESPN has an unmatched reach among sports fans. A recent survey of 1,000 American bettors found that 54% planned to sign up for the ESPN BET app, and 46% believed it would become the most popular sports betting app in America.
Jay Snowden, CEO of PENN Entertainment, stated that ESPN BET aims to achieve a 20% market share by 2027.
The U.S. legal sports betting industry is eagerly anticipating the impact of ESPN BET on the broader industry. Day 1 has concluded, but many more days lie ahead before we can truly assess the effect on American bettors.
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