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ESPN Takes a Gamble by Launching Betting App ESPN Takes a Gamble - Launches Betting App

By Lindsay Arons

ESPN Bet App
© 2023 Lindsay Arons

REPORTER: Sports have a strong impact on society as it creates camaraderie and brings people together. It is also a huge revenue source as there are millions of fans across the world. ESPN is considered the worldwide leader in sports, and today they launch a new initiative – ESPN Bet

DENNIS DENINGER:“The mission statement at ESPN is to serve sports fans anytime, anywhere. And it’s a realization that sports fans are now spending a lot of time and billions of dollars betting on sports.”

REPORTER: The leading outlet in sports news also having their own betting platform is raising ethical questions. Does ESPN influence the way people bet and does that present a conflict of interest?

DENNIS DENINGER:“Promoting the betting in those shows – make sure you go to ESPNBet if you wanna bet on what Woj tells you is gonna happen in the NBA finals. It does raise a quagmire of questions.”

REPORTER: The sportsbook will not be run by ESPN, as it is owned by Penn Entertainment. The ESPN branding is compared to a naming rights deal like you would see for a stadium. PENN CEO Jay Snowden said, “We are firmly convinced that we will be getting significant value for our marketing dollars by allocating those funds to the single-best brand and platform in the U.S. to reach sports fans and potential bettors.”

REPORTER: It’s not available yet because it’s set to launch later on today, but the ESPN Bet app will be available on the App Store. Reporting from Syracuse, I’m Lindsay Arons – NCC News

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) – ESPN, the world’s leading sports news outlet, is venturing into a new sector of the sports world. The company launched its new sports betting app today, titled ESPN Bet.

Sports betting has become increasingly popular since 2018, when the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was overturned. This gave individual states the option to legalize sports gambling. The ESPN Bet app is available in 17 states. 

Dennis Deninger, a professor in Syracuse University’s Sport Management program, was formerly the first Coordinating Producer of SportsCenter on ESPN. Deninger understands that the ESPN Bet app corresponds with ESPN’s goals.

“The mission statement at ESPN is to serve sports fans anytime, anywhere,” Deninger said. “It’s a realization that sports fans are now spending a lot of time and billions of dollars betting on sports.” 

Many people are concerned that a conflict of interest could occur due to ESPN being a media outlet that influences the way people bet, and now it has its own betting platform.  ESPN issued new guidelines because of this,  stating that employees may not place or facilitate any bets on events they are assigned to cover.

ESPN Bet’s promo was posted nearly two weeks ago featuring commentator Scott Van Pelt. The video shows Van Pelt receiving notifications about winning a bet while being excited about it. This was particularly troubling to Deninger.

“I really don’t want my commentators on ESPN to be telling me things about whether [an outcome] was really good or this was really bad, [saying it was] really good because [they] won [their] bet,” Deninger said. “It can change the attitude of an individual talking about a sporting event.” 

ESPN will not actually be running the Sportsbook, as the deal is similar to a naming rights deal for a stadium. PENN Entertainment owns the Sportsbook and is paying ESPN $150 million per year for ten years to use the ESPN brand. PENN CEO Jay Snowden sees the value of using ESPN to launch a new sportsbook, something that will undoubtedly change the landscape of sports betting.

“We are firmly convinced that we will be getting significant value for our marketing dollars by allocating those funds to the single-best brand and platform in the U.S. to reach sports fans and potential bettors,” Snowden said.

 

 

 

 

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