Things in the world of sports betting are about to change when it comes to ESPN.

Sports betting is something former Disney CEO Bob Chapek was pursuing rather aggressively during his tenure. Returning and current CEO Bob Iger, however, hasn’t always been on the same page. In 2018, he said that there was room for some sports betting but when talking about Disney getting into the business of gambling he said “I rather doubt it.” He later softened his tune, noting that it was “inevitable that they’ll be a…basically, a seamlessness between sports programming and sports betting.” And now it seems that seamlessness will become more of a reality at ESPN.

In a press release, ESPN announced an agreement with PENN Entertainment to launch something called ESPN BET. This is meant to be a “branded sportsbook for fans in the United States.” A sportsbook is typically an entity that takes bets. Ultimately, as the ESPN press release notes, “The ESPN BET brand will be home to ESPN’s sports betting content across platforms.”

According to the press release, PENN Entertainment will be rebranding its existing sportsbook and will relaunch as “ESPN BET” in the fall within the 16 legalized betting states where it is licensed to operate. That rebrand will extend to the mobile app, website, and mobile website for PENN Entertainment.

ESPN notes that the rebranded experience — ESPN BET — “will become ESPN’s exclusive sportsbook, and PENN Entertainment will receive odds attribution, promotional services inclusive of digital product integrations, traditional media and content integrations, and ESPN talent access, among other services.”

Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman of ESPN, shared “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…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.”

Now, this isn’t ESPN’s first step into the betting world. As the press release notes, “Over recent years, ESPN has increased multi-platform sports betting content, adding digital programming, radio segments, and editorial coverage from talent.” But this will take things to a different level and be the latest in their offerings.

ESPN has noted that along with PENN Entertainment’s responsible gaming programming, ESPN is going to use its platforms to “educate sports fans on responsible gaming.” That’ll include:

• “Continuing ESPN’s high standard of journalistic integrity when covering the sports betting space.
• Developing an ESPN committee of responsible gaming, representative of a diverse cross-section of the business, to regularly review compliance, programming, and policies.
• Implementing responsible marketing policies and guidelines to safeguard fans.
• Working with industry experts on best practices and continual review of responsible gaming programming.”

So it seems the time for ESPN’s “inevitable” greater involvement in sports better (as Iger viewed it) has arrived. This news about ESPN’s agreement with PENN Entertainment was released on August 8th, the day before the release of Disney’s August 9th earnings report for the third quarter of fiscal year 2023 and related earnings call. We expect that this sports betting topic could become one that analysts will ask Iger and other executives about or Disney itself will comment on, so we’ll be on the lookout for updates there. Stay tuned for more news.

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What do you think about this sports betting update? Tell us in the comments!

The post NEWS: Disney Announces MAJOR Change for ESPN first appeared on the disney food blog.