ESPN Bet – FairOdds Network

March 21, 2025

State of the Union: MD governor wants betting tax increase, new AR bill, more

Welcome to iGB's State of the Union, a look at the biggest North American sports betting stories we've covered over the week and briefs on others we found interesting.

Mixed bag in Maryland

Maryland’s governor, Wes Moore, unveiled his latest budget proposal on Thursday (20 March) night and it’s not terribly favourable for the gambling industry. The proposal does not include any funding from online casino and does include a sports betting tax hike.

Moore previously floated the idea of doubling the tax rate on wagering from 15% to 30%. In his new proposal, he pitches a 20% tax rate, which is projected to bring in an additional $32 million (£24.6 million/€29.6 million) in tax revenue in FY 2026. The state is facing a $3 billion deficit.

If lawmakers follow through, Maryland would become the third state in two years to raise its betting tax. Ohio was the first when Governor Mike DeWine pushed through a bump from 10% to 20% in July 2023, six months after wagering went live. He..

March 20, 2025

Penn in peril? theScore founder says “execution”, “unified approach” lacking for ESPN Bet

With the future of ESPN Bet seemingly in question, criticism of Penn Entertainment is coming from many corners.

Ever since Penn Entertainment CEO Jay Snowden in late February addressed the idea that his company or ESPN could exit their 10-year deal for ESPN Bet in 2026, the wagering world has been raining negatives. Some analysts have downgraded Penn stock and, on 18 March, the founder of theScore and theScoreBet had his say.

Prior to that, two investors had accused Penn of mismanaging its interactive strategy. In May 2024, the Donerail Group said “guidance misses” by Penn executives had “damaged the credibility of the management team and board of directors”. And in January, HG Vora accused the company of “reckless spending” on digital projects.

John Levy was the founder of theScore and theScoreBet, which Snowden called a “very good story for us in Canada” as a result of Penn acquiring them in 2021. Levy, however, this month shared his not-so-warm-and-fuzzy thoughts about his compan..

February 28, 2025

Penn’s ESPN Bet struggles continue; Snowden addresses plans if progress stagnates

Penn Entertainment's Jay Snowden pointed to “lower loss sequentially” coming every quarter in 2025 as well as better ways to “optimise spend” with ESPN in the company's quarterly earnings conference call. But Penn fell short of some expectations and beat others for the last quarter of 2024.

Saying once again on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call on Thursday (27 February) that the future is bright, Penn’s CEO placed heavy focus on what is to come versus what has already happened Snowden said Penn is seeing “green shoots” throughout its departments while “we have more work to do to unlock the full potential and value of our partnership with ESPN”.

For digital gaming overall, the company reported revenue of $275 million (£218 million/€$264.7 million) for the fourth quarter. Its $109.8 million in adjusted EBITDA loss was a $224 million improvement compared to the same quarter for 2023, but those numbers still pulled down Penn’s overall performance and were below analys..

January 22, 2025

ESPN Bet enters 20th market with Washington DC launch

Penn Entertainment has reached a significant milestone by announcing the launch of ESPN Bet in Washington DC, with the latest rollout meaning the brand is now live in 20 markets across the US.

DC players can now access and place bets with ESPN Bet via mobile and web platforms. The brand offers wagering across major league sports in the US and other competitions from around the world.

Betting options include live betting and featured parlays, while users will also have access to features such as daily odds boosts, custom offers and exclusive promotions and integrations with ESPN content and personalities.

In addition, customers in DC will have the option to link their ESPN Bet and ESPN accounts. This will allow them to track upcoming, live and settled bets within the ESPN app and on ESPN.com.

ESPN Bet joins other leading names such as BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, Fanatics Sportsbook and FanDuel in DC.

“We’re thrilled to launch ESPN Bet in our nation’s capital and expand ..

January 14, 2025

ESPN Bet secures DC market access with Monumental Sports partnership

Penn Entertainment is to launch ESPN Bet in Washington DC after securing market access in the US capital through a new partnership with Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE).

Effective immediately, the long-term deal enables ESPN Bet to join several other approved online operators already established in DC. These include BetMGM, FanDuel, Caesars, Fanatics and DraftKings.

According to a 14 January statement, ESPN Bet will also become a sports betting partner of MSE and its various sports teams. MSE owns and operates NHL ice hockey team the Washington Capitals, NBA basketball team the Washington Wizards and the Washington Mystics of the WNBA. It also counts several multi-purpose venues among its portfolio of assets.

As part of the agreement, ESPN Bet will work with MSE to enhance the fan experience via an integrated marketing partnership. This multi-channel collaboration will include in-arena and media components, such as features in game broadcasts on MSE-owned Monumental Sports Ne..

December 16, 2024

ESPN Bet leans into ESPN as it seeks to differentiate itself

ESPN Bet and ESPN believe that the gambling platform's newest functionality – account linking to the media site – is a game changer.

When it comes to sports betting platforms, a key driver of success is differentiation. Some platforms lean into massive bet menus. Others lean into high limits. And still others lean into microbetting. ESPN Bet is leaning into… ESPN.

And it believes connecting the Worldwide Leader in Sports with a like-branded betting app gives it a serious advantage.

“The assumptions you can draw are that the individual who links is betting more often,” Mike Morrison, vice president of ESPN Bet and ESPN Fantasy, told iGB. “Perhaps some of the bets are of higher value and we’re able to identify different kinds of betting behaviour. This group of fans that are playing fantasy or betting are a high-value player… they’re going to be a very valuable customer for ESPN, so we want to find ways to engage them.”

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To that end, ESPN Bet announced on 1..

December 12, 2024

Turns out, the promos ESPN’s personalities are pushing for ESPN Bet aren’t big winners

A 20-day journey following every promo wager and boosted parlay on the app.

Watch any game on ESPN or on its sister network ABC and you will see the ESPN Bet advertisements and promotions during just about every commercial break.

They have become ubiquitous parts of the network’s sports programming.

These are the advertisements hawking ESPN’s betting app, featuring Stephen A Smith, Mike Greenberg and other assorted talking heads from the network’s lineup.

A strong push like this from the Disney marketing department is not surprising. The media giant regularly uses all its tentacles to promote its various properties. The synergy its sports personalities offer is a major reason why ESPN hooked up with Penn Entertainment following the gaming company’s divorce from Barstool.

Those recognisable figures are now prominently featured on ESPN Bet’s promo page endorsing certain wagers. Most often these include pre-packaged parlays and odds boosts connected to upcoming games airing on the ne..

November 15, 2024

Here are the sports betting platforms that already have Missouri market access

Those in Missouri will finally get a chance to bet on sports after voters approved a legal digital and retail sports betting initiative on 5 November. And every major operator already has some sort of existing relationship with a casino or professional sports team in the state.

Missouri’s new law requires that sports betting go live by 1 December 2025. Given that the state has an existing casino industry, it could launch sooner. And Jan Zimmerman, chair of the Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC) says the rules promulgation process has already started.

“Our folks are writing the rules and regulations as we speak,” Zimmeran told KFVS 12 on 12 November.

Zimmerman didn’t reveal a projected launch date or when rules might be available for review. But the MGC meets at the end of each month, usually around the 25th. The agenda and date for the November meeting are not posted yet. Once the process starts, it’s likely that the commission will first approve an application and open that process…

November 7, 2024

“Unfavourable hold” a drag on Penn earnings, but new products, tech are things to look forward to

As expected, Penn Entertainment reported a third-quarter loss on Thursday (7 November), but CEO Jay Snowden said the latest sports betting integration, impending launch of a stand-alone digital casino app and continued focus on land-based projects means there is much to look forward to.

During the presentation Snowden pointed to “unfavourable hold” in the northeast and a decline in the number of customers visiting casinos in the south due to weather and construction as drags on revenue. He said that retail customer demand remained stable. With regard to hold, Snowden said the low hold in the third quarter was industry-wide and not unique to Penn. The third quarter includes two of the slowest wagering months of the year in the US.

At least one analyst, Joseph Greff from JP Morgan, had lowered expectations ahead of the release. On Thursday morning Jefferies Equity Research released a note saying the numbers were “in-line with expectations”.

In terms of hard numbers, Penn has $1.8 bi..

November 1, 2024

State of the Union: ESPN-ESPN Bet now linked, Missouri initiative opposition, more

Welcome to iGB's State of the Union, a look at the biggest North American sports betting stories we've covered over the week and briefs on others we found interesting.

ESPN Bet-ESPN linking now available

On Friday (1 November) Penn Entertainment and ESPN announced that ESPN and ESPN Bet accounts can now be linked. Consumers can “seamlessly track upcoming, live and settled bets within the ESPN app and on ESPN.com.” Connecting accounts will also allow ESPN Bet to offer personalised promotions and bets.

“Bringing this new feature to market is an important step as we work to create a fully interconnected media and betting ecosystem between ESPN and ESPN Bet,” Aaron LaBerge, chief technology officer at Penn Entertainment said via press release. “Account linking allows us to better serve and engage our users by unlocking key personalisation and promotional capabilities. This feature is just the beginning of deeper integrations that will further differentiate the ESPN Bet experi..

October 9, 2024

With ESPN Bet live in New York, Penn executives bullish and focused on ESPN-ESPN Bet integration

Penn Entertainment presented a positive outlook for the Penn Interactive digital business at its Investor Day on 7 October. Highlights included green shoots already showing in New York, merely a week after ESPN Bet’s launch, and continued efforts to integrate the app with ESPN to up-sell users and cut down on time spent away from the ESPN Bet product.
Despite criticism from analysts and investors earlier in the year and claims that a Boyd takeover was on the horizon, CEO Jay Snowden is sure ESPN Bet can turn its luck around.

“Net-net, we remain positive on the ESPN Bet opportunity,” Truist analyst Barry Jonas said of the presentation.

Early signs of success in New York
New York is already showing signs of success for ESPN Bet in its first week. The presentation showed daily handle per ESPN Bet user in New York is already 296% higher than any other state it operates in.

In the first three days, ESPN Bet took $3m in bets, according to the New York State Gaming Commission. For com..

October 4, 2024

State of the Union: MA sends cease-and-desist to Bovada, NCAA not sure betting bans work

Welcome to iGB's State of the Union, a look at the biggest North American sports betting stories we've covered over the week and briefs on others we found interesting.
Massachusetts wants Bovada gone
The state of Massachusetts became the latest this week to send a cease-and-desist letter to offshore operator Bovada. The company is not licensed, but is offering online casino, pari-mutuel wagering and sports betting in the Bay State. The attorney-general’s office on Thursday (3 October) sent a letter that reads in part:

It is illegal in Massachusetts to engage in commercial gambling except where expressly
authorized by the Commonwealth. Mass. G.L. c. 4, sec. 7 (definition of “illegal gaming”); G.L.
c. 23K. Bovada offers an online casino that includes among its games slots, blackjack, roulette,
baccarat, and poker, without any license issued by the Commission under Mass. G.L. c. 23K.

Moreover, Mass. G.L. c. 23N, § 5(a) prohibits engagement in “any activity in connection with
..

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Tag: ESPN Bet