ESPN partners with PENN Entertainment to form ESPN BET, which will launch this fall
The network says ESPN BET will relaunch in the 16 legalized betting states where PENN Entertainment is licensed. The former Penn National Gaming, PENN is based in Wyomissing.
In a partnership with PENN Entertainment, a betting operator that was previously partnered with Barstool Sports, ESPN will launch ESPN BET this fall. PENN is selling all of its stake in the Barstool sportsbook back to the company’s founder, Dave Portnoy.
According to ESPN’s press release, ESPN BET will relaunch in the 16 legalized betting states where PENN Entertainment is licensed, and will include a mobile app, website, and mobile website. PENN Entertainment, based in Wyomissing, Berks County, was formerly known as Penn National Gaming, and is paying ESPN $1.5 billion in cash payments over a 10-year agreement for the exclusive rights deal, which includes allowing ESPN to buy $500 million in PENN’s purchase shares.
“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 the company’s statement. “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.”
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PENN has offices in the Philadelphia region. The company operates 43 properties in 20 states.
After buying 36% of Barstool Sports’ stock in 2020, PENN acquired the remaining 64% for $388 million in February of this year.
PENN’s stock rose about 25% after trading in the hours following the news of its partnership with ESPN. In early May, the company’s stock dropped 13% after Barstool fired personality Ben Mintz for using a racial slur while rapping along to song lyrics on a live stream.
Sports analyst Pat McAfee, who signed with ESPN in May, left in the second year of his four-year, $120 million-plus deal with FanDuel as the host and creator of The Pat McAfee Show. While McAfee’s role at ESPN will include a weekly spot as an analyst on College Football GameDay, according to the New York Post, he could play a part in the new ESPN BET venture.
Caesars Sportsbook was the exclusive odds provider for ESPN before the new agreement.