Online sports betting has been rolling out in drips and drabs in the U.S. (Streaming service Fubo shut down its attempt in October 2022.) But it might be about to get a shot in the arm with the introduction of ESPN Bet, which will debut in 17 states starting November 14.
ESPN Bet (we’re lowercasing the second word here so as not to confuse it with the BET cable network) actually is a rebranded product from PENN Entertainment and will include a mobile app and websites. It’ll be available — pending final approvals — in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia. You’ll need to physically be in one of those states to actually place a wager, but you can log in to your account, as well as make deposits and withdraw from your account, and check your transaction history, nationwide,
And speaking of rebrands, ESPN’s Daily Wager show will become ESPN Bet Live starting November 10.
“This agreement with ESPN and collaboration on ESPN Bet allows us to take another step forward as an industry leader,” Jay Snowden, President and CEO of PENN Entertainment, said in an August news release. “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.”
You’ll soon start to see promos for ESPN Bet that feature longtime SportsCenter anchor Scott Van Pelt, and another with Elle Duncan will follow.
“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 chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in an August news release announcing ESPN Bet. “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 Bet also has packaged a sweepstakes for the chance to win a trip to ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, as part of the promotion.
