The stakes are high for ESPN’s long-awaited foray into sports betting. Vice president of sports betting Mike Morrison believes the broadcasting behemoth will upend the established industry order.
“There was an inevitability about this,” ESPN’s Mike Morrison says of the sports giant’s move into betting.
Partnering Penn Entertainment to launch ESPN Bet brought years of speculation – and the operator’s partnership with Barstool Sports – to a close. This was momentous at every level.
First, the announcement came as a surprise. Penn’s sportsbook now connects with a vast audience, potentially catapulting the operator’s interactive business to the top tier of operators.
To the general news connoisseur, beloved multimedia behemoth the Walt Disney Company – owner of ESPN – entered the sports betting race.
ESPN Bet: A deal five years in the making
Sports betting is a natural extension for ESPN and speculation over deals with DraftKings and Caesars Entertainment was rife.
Morrison says its designs on the sector stretch back to 2018. That year the Supreme Court’s repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) looked more of a sure thing than a long shot.
Not just a box-ticking exercise
The idea to partner with a well-known operator in the space picked up steam later, in 2021. Naturally, ESPN had numerous key conditions to meet.
“We needed a partner that obviously has market access, that has strong leadership, is effective at gaining state licences, has the highest amount of integrity and has the capabilities across compliance, product, technology, marketing, etc.,” he lists.
Just a handful of companies were really able to meet ESPN’s standards, Morrison admits. “Frankly, there are challenges in finding a really good fit because there are probably only a few key players in the industry that really fit from our standpoint and met all the requirements.”
Preparing for launch
With the deal now in the public sphere, ESPN Bet’s go-live date looms.
Penn initially suggested an “autumn” launch was on the cards. However, Jay Snowden, CEO and president of Penn, later revealed ESPN Bet will launch in November this year.
It’s perhaps a mark of confidence that the brand will launch when the National Football League (NFL) season is in full swing. In the early stages of sports betting, operators could get away with rolling out incomplete products to gain first-mover advantage. Today, product is becoming the new battleground, so it’s a case of perfecting the offering rather than simply getting to market.
“There’s always a sense of urgency to get things into market quickly,” Morrison says. “Our point of view is, let’s make sure we get this right and that everything is in place for launch.”
And for the launch to be a success, making sure ESPN Bet and Penn coordinate plans is critical. “Our plan is to have this be a very effective launch and have a high impact,” Morrison explains. “It’s important for us to be prepared on both sides for that to happen, for it to be successful.”
