- ESPN and Penn Entertainment’s online sportsbook, ESPN Bet, is set to launch in 17 US states on November 14.
- This launch comes less than three months after the companies entered a $1.5 billion strategic alliance.
- ESPN Bet is a late entrant in the sports betting market, promising an interesting study for the industry.
ESPN and Penn Entertainment announced that their much-anticipated online sportsbook, ESPN Bet, will launch in 17 states on November 14, pending final regulatory approvals.
Less than three months after the two companies entered a ten-year, $1.5 billion strategic alliance, excitement is building for a shiny new sports betting platform. But the launch of ESPN Bet also promises to be one studied by the industry for some time — not only because of the nature of the deal that saw Penn ditch its Barstool Sportsbook brand, but also the fact that ESPN Bet is a late market entrant.
It will also be interesting to see how the “compelling cross-sell opportunities” cited by Penn on Thursday will help the new sportsbook compete against its US sports betting rivals — especially DraftKings and FanDuel.
