NEW YORK — ESPN Bet celebrated its one-year anniversary on Thursday during the network’s annual innovation conference, as executives shed light on gambling’s role in their ambitious all-in-one vision for sports consumption.
Earlier in the day, Disney CEO Bob Iger reiterated that ESPN’s much-anticipated direct-to-consumer product is tentatively slated for fall 2025. Echoing the timeline, ESPN Chair Jimmy Pitaro discussed the subscription service’s features, including AI-driven personalization that will integrate fantasy sports and ESPN Bet.
“If I’ve placed a bet on Saquon Barkley and the Eagles are playing, I want to see that betting module next to the live game feed,” Pitaro said, calling it the most exciting product he has ever worked on.
Conference focus away from sports betting
Unlike last year’s innovation conference, which featured ESPN Bet’s launch in 17 states, sports betting was only briefly addressed during this year’s four-hour event.
Instead, much of the focus centered on initiatives outside of betting, like the announcement of the Meta Horizon: ESPN Tailgate headset launching in December and new experiences tied to events like the Rose Bowl and the Travelers Championship.
ESPN Bet makes integration inroads
ESPN and its partner Penn Entertainment hit a significant milestone earlier this month when they launched direct linking between ESPN and ESPN Bet accounts. It brings to life one of many integrations investors have fantasized about since the two got together in 2023, as the partnership aims to fully leverage ESPN’s reach into a sustainable sports betting business.
The integration allows users to track their bets seamlessly app-to-app. Penn CEO Jay Snowden identified it as a key goal during last year’s innovation conference.
“We’ve already seen significant uptake where you’re able to link your ESPN account, and that will deliver the payoff of that as you see your bets appearing on the home screen of the ESPN app,” Mike Morrison, vice president of ESPN BET and ESPN Fantasy, told LSR. “It is essential in taking the friction out, making it seamless and intuitive for the user from the very first time they use the app and really enables us to deliver on personalization.
“Ultimately, we’re going to be able to serve you bets that are either things you typically bet on, types of teams you bet on, players or sports you like.”
An interconnected ‘super app’
Morrison sees a near future where all of ESPN’s offerings are seamlessly connected in what he described as a super app, “a hub for everything sports fans could need.” From live streaming, to research, fantasy sports, merchandise, and tickets, the goal is one cohesive ecosystem that includes betting.
“You still may have to go to different apps, OK. Like you’re gonna have to go to the sportsbook app to place a bet,” Morrison explained. “When I say one app, I’m saying it’s all integrated together within the same ecosystem. Developing that connectivity, that ecosystem — it’s very much part of how we see the vision here.”
The vision, Morrison said, revolves around creating a central destination where fans can access their favorite sports content and interact with fantasy and betting features all throughout their experience.
How relationship with Penn has evolved
Morrison also discussed how ESPN’s relationship with Penn has evolved in their one year together.
Penn hired former Disney and ESPN CTO Aaron LaBerge to oversee technology for the betting app earlier this year. Morrison credited LaBerge with the app’s ramped up enhancements and helping bridge the relationship between the nascent partners.
“He’s in a position with great knowledge of our ecosystem and now a very strong understanding of betting, to really figure out how we bring all this together,” Morrison said. “We’re incredibly excited about Aaron’s role there, because it will ultimately accelerate everything we’re looking to do.
“We’re developing our ecosystem with learnings from the last three or four years from before we got into betting. They understand the value of the ecosystem, our capability to help drive behavior and embrace our technology leadership.”
