Can ESPN Bet Remain Competitive?
It has been a little over 6 months since ESPN Bet came into the U.S. sports betting scene. However, no visible improvement can be seen in the popularity of their sportsbook platform. Thus, Can ESPN Bet Remain Competitive despite a lackluster performance?
According to the latest financial report from Penn Entertainment, the numbers are not looking good. After their first quarter report, Penn Entertainment was not able to reach their earnings estimate. As a result, last week, Penn’s stock went down by more than 10% due in part to struggles by ESPN Bet. The reason is because ESPN Bet saw lower-than-expected hold and spending per user.
So what plan does Penn Entertainment to bring back revenue from ESPN Bet and remain competitive?
Can ESPN Bet Remain Competitive in the U.S. Sports Betting Market?
Last August Penn Entertainment made the announcement that they would be partnering with Disney to use the ESPN brand. ESPN Bet, went live in November with high expectations thanks to their use of the ESPN name. However, the quarterly report shows that ESPN Bet was short $30 Millions of reach their goals. Therefore, can ESPN Bet Remain Competitive in the US Betting market despite this setback?
In an effort to keep a positive attitude, Jay Snowden, the president of Penn Entertainment, said they are pleased with the early EPSN Bet results. He also said “their focus heading into this football season will be on enhancing our products offering.”
Considering that this is a 10-years, $2 billion partnership between Disney and Penn Entertainment, this is not a good start. At least, not if they want to start operating at a profit. Even though experts expect the sports betting market to reach $182 billion by 2030, shareholders will not wait that long. let’s face it, shareholders are all about the bottom-line and are expecting results now.
Therefore, they cannot wait for the start of the 2024-25 football season to begin. If they want to compete with DraftKings and Fanduel, they will have to start now.
ESPN Bet Needs Improvement Now
The bottom line is that ESPN Needs Improvement Now if they want to become a competitive and profit-making sportsbook. Therefore, to increase their marketing efforts like create a comprehensive bookie referral program and work on their betting platform.
However, it is not yet over if they can collect their fair share of the U.S. Betting market. While the Super Bowl and March Madness is over, there is still plenty of time before the start of the football season. The NBA playoffs are currently underway, the baseball season is starting and the 2024 Paris Olympics will be taking place this summer.
If ESPN Bet can capture more sports betting market shares during these popular betting events, they could show better Q2 results. In turn, they could retain these players for the NFL Season.
In addition, ESPN Bet will need ESPN to sell and advertise more ESPN Bet to its audience. Especially since that was probably a big reason as to why Penn made the deal with Disney. To cash-in on the ESPN name.
Who is ESPN Bet
In August of 2023, ESPN made an announcement that they would be partnering with Penn Entertainment to launch ESPN Bet. The Penn ESPPN partnership had Penn pay ESPIN $1.5 billion in cash over a 10-year period. In addition, Penn would allow ESPN to purchase 31.8 million Penn common shares worth $500 Million at the time.
Initially, Penn Entertainment had the brand “Barstool Sports” as its flagship sportsbook brand. However, they were several issues in regards to their relationship that came about. Thus, when the opportunity to own the ESPN Brand came around, they quickly gave up the Barstool Sportsbook brand. Thus, Dave Portnoy, the founder of barstool was able to buy back Barstool Sports.
About Penn Entertainment
Penn Entertainment, is an entertainment company that operates over 43 gambling properties in 20 states. Some of their brands include Hollywood Casino, Ameristar, Boomtown, Margaritaville Resort casino, Tropicana Las Vets, and ESPN Bet.
Before 2022, the company was known as Penn National Gaming. However, in August of 2022, it underwent a name change to Pen Entertainment. This was done to reflect its diversification into the sports betting industry and other entertainment operations.
Open a Sportsbook with PricePerPlayer.com for $5 or Less Per Player
