On Monday (23 September) the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) voted to transfer the Wynn Resorts digital sports betting licence to Penn Entertainment. This means that ESPN Bet could be live in the state by the weekend.
Penn Entertainment and ESPN have been waiting for the vote and the go-ahead to launch. Executives from both companies had previously pointed to a launch by the end of August. But the NYSGC declined to call a special meeting to vote and the last meeting was in June.
The state of New York has a cap of nine digital wagering licences. All nine were accounted for at the beginning of 2024, but WynnBet decided to get out of the digital betting business and exited the state in July. In February, Penn made a deal to buy WynnBet’s NY licence for $25m (£18.7m/€22.5m).
At Monday’s meeting, Penn executive vice-president, chief strategy and legal officer and secretary Chris Rogers told the commission that his company still has “a couple of boxes to check” on technology. But he said the plan is to “launch in several days, perhaps a soft launch in advance of the weekend”.
ESPN Bet “attracts a different kind of bettor”
That would mean the ESPN Bet platform would be live in time for Week 4 of the NFL season. All three New York teams are scheduled to play this week, starting with the Dallas Cowboys at the New York Giants on Thursday (26 September) night. The New York Jets will host the Denver Broncos on Sunday (29 September) and the Buffalo Bills will play at the Baltimore Ravens in the Sunday Night game.
ESPN Bet, according to the commission, is live online in 19 states for sports betting and five for online casino. The platform is offered through a partnership between Penn and ESPN, formed in 2023. It went live in 17 US jurisdictions on 15 November 2023.
Rogers fielded questions about whether or not ESPN Bet would expand the New York market and how it would interact (or not) with colleged-aged people and on college campuses.
One commissioner suggested that since WynnBet never gained traction in the state, it is likely that the ESPN Bet launch could translate into new customers rather than existing bettors moving from platform to platform. Rogers agreed.
“We attract a different kind of bettor,” he said. “So we would expect to grow the market. I think we’ve seen handle on those markets (we launch in) go up, as people try a new platform.”
Penn promises no college partnerships
With regard to marketing to college-aged Americans or on college campuses, Rogers was clear in saying that Penn does not have a relationship with any colleges and that the company “takes very seriously not marketing to underage people”. Commissioners expressed some concern about the relationship with ESPN and that company’s work with college sports.
“There are restrictions around college marketing and our goal is to meet those standards,” Rogers said. He also said that Penn and ESPN Bet would not target marketing to those under the age of 21, but that there would be some “general marketing” that those below the legal gambling age may see.
Every major US operator is live in New York. Bally’s, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel, Resorts World and Rush Street Interactive were among the original licensees. Since the universal launch on 8 January 2022, there has been one other change in platforms. Fanatics Sportsbook purchased PointsBet’s North American assets in August 2023 and rebranded the New York platform in March.
