As ESPN Bet continues to work toward increasing its sports betting market share, the operator also plans to open new in-person sportsbooks.
Penn Entertainment announced Thursday that it is opening 10 new in-person ESPN Bet Sportsbooks across its land-based casino portfolio. ESPN Bet is available online in 19 US sports betting markets.
Once the new books open early this year, Penn will have 19 ESPN Bet branded sportsbooks at its properties.
New ESPN Bet sports betting options
The new sportsbooks will open in six states at Hollywood and Ameristar Casino brands:
- Colorado — Ameristar Casino Resort Spa Black Hawk
- Indiana — Hollywood Casino and Hotel Lawrenceburg
- Indiana — Ameristar Casino East Chicago
- Iowa — Ameristar Casino Hotel Council Bluffs
- Ohio — Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway
- Ohio — Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course
- Pennsylvania — Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course
- Pennsylvania — Hollywood Casino at The Meadows
- Pennsylvania — Hollywood Casino York
- West Virginia — Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races
ESPN Bet has existing in-person sportsbooks in Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan and Ohio.
ESPN banking on integration
In the fall, Penn Entertainment and ESPN celebrated a major milestone by directly linking ESPN Bet and the ESPN app.
During an earnings call in fall 2024, Penn Entertainment CEO Jay Snowden said customer retention through the ESPN database remains higher than average. Snowden also predicted that the average bet size would continue to grow through Q1 2025.
“We would expect to see [average wager size] continue to grow throughout football season as we head out into March Madness as well,” Snowden said. “It’s a big focus for us right now. We think retention, we’re in a really good place, but continuing to improve monetization will be key for us.”
A standalone Hollywood Casino app will help smooth any issues between the sportsbook and online casino, according to the earnings call. The company also expects multiple Missouri sports betting licenses.
