Get ready, New York: The long-anticipated Empire State launch of ESPN Bet is coming soon.
During its Monday meeting, the New York State Gaming Commission signed off on Penn Entertainment’s acquisition of Wynn Interactive, clearing the way for Penn to introduced ESPN Bet to the NY sports betting landscape.
Making an appearance at meeting, Chris Rogers – Penn’s executive vice president, chief strategy and legal officer and secretary – said the company still has “a few boxes to check” before going live with ESPN Bet to “make sure that we are right from a technology standpoint.
“But we would be prepared to launch in a matter of several days. Perhaps even a soft launch in advance of the weekend with approval here today.”
ESPN Bet ‘will expand the market’ in New York
Since the New York online sports betting industry launched in January 2022, operators have combined to accept nearly $49 billion in bets, second only to neighboring New Jersey, which obviously had a four-year head start.
On top of that, NY sportsbooks have generated over $4.3 billion in gross gaming revenue, leading to more than $2.2 billion in state tax revenue.
Speaking for Penn, Rogers said that ESPN Bet NY “will expand the market” in the Empire State.
“That’s been our experience in other jurisdictions where we’ve launched. We think we’re attracting a new bettor. And while there could be some shifting and cannibalization of existing operators, we think we are growing the market.”
Roger noted that Penn saw an initial “wave of adoption” after rolling out ESPN Bet, including sign-ups and first-time depositors.
“I think we’ve seen the handle on those markets went up, so you saw increased play as people were trialing a new operator,” Rogers continued. “Some of this is anecdotal, but based on the surveys we’ve done of new customers, we believe we are attracting new customers who are new to betting.”
Penn answers concerns from NYSGC
Before officially holding a vote on Penn’s application, NYSGC Chair Brian O’Dwyer asked Rogers about Penn’s stance regarding the promotion of sports betting on college campuses.
Noting that the NYSGC has been “very, very worried and upset” about the matter, O’Dwyer urged Penn not to enter into any agreements with colleges to do so. Rogers eased the chairman’s mind, emphasizing that “[w]e take it very seriously” to not target college students in marketing efforts.
“We as a company are committed to avoiding the promotion of sports betting on college campuses,” he said. “This is an issue very near to our heart given our partnership with ESPN, which has various college [programming], including College GameDay.
“Our commitment at Penn in addition to our partners at ESPN is to make sure that we are in adherence to all requirements related to promotion of sports betting on college campuses.”
O’Dwyer followed up, wondering how Penn goes about ensuring the prevention of underage gambling. While Rogers conceded that the company does “engage in some general promotion across linear media,” he added that the targeted marketing messages are “for those we’ve identified as being 21 or over in age.”
Launch of ESPN Bet is 7 months in the making
This has been a long time coming for Penn, which began the process of obtaining the sports betting license of WynnBet in February for $25 million.
During an earnings call soon after, Penn CEO Jay Snowden noted that, because of the 51% tax rate, the economic model in New York “is indeed challenging.” Still, Snowden said, “we look forward to bringing ESPN Bet to the largest regulated online sports wagering market in North America.”
By the summer, Penn expected to go live with ESPN Bet in time for opening weekend of the college football season in late August. In fact, executives noted that they were ready to “press that button” to launch just as soon as state regulators gave the go-ahead.
Of course, that never came to fruition, as the NYSGC still needed to sign off on Penn’s application to acquire the Wynn Interactive license.
Because of that delay, at best, ESPN Bet NY will have missed the first four weeks of the college football season and three weeks of NFL action.
