ESPN BET sportsbook represents the long-awaited formal entry of the Worldwide Leader into the legal, regulated online sports betting space. The PENN Entertainment-owned rebranded book ESPN BET is now live following regulatory approval in the 19 states in which PENN is licensed, and now sports bettors can get an exclusive welcome offer when they download the ESPN Bet app.

Use the ESPN Bet promo code BOOKIES to receive $1000 in bonus bets when you bet anything! This means ifr your first wager loses you will get a $1000 bonus. 

If you want to claim this welcome offer ensure you are using the ESPN BET promo code BOOKIES when you sign up to claim the full $1000 bonus.

ESPN Bet App Latest Promo Terms & Conditions

Why Download the ESPN BET App?

Downloading the ESPN BET App will put all the features of the desktop site just a click of an ESPN logo away on their mobile device. The ESPN Bet app for Android and iOS is available in 19 states.

Like most apps in the sports betting market, the ESPN BET sports betting app is designed to get sports bettors to the best sports betting markets with the minimum of fuss. The main navigation allows you to access the biggest sports, promotions, odds boosts and offers, or in-play markets at the click of a button. 

While the ESPN Bet app home screen loads with the top upcoming sporting events and those already in play. Vital for saving those all-important seconds if you’re heading to the ESPN bet app for some in play sports betting.

The home screen also displays the latest ESPN Bet app promos, so you won’t miss out on any deposit match or bonus bet offers for existing customers once you sign up. Expect odds boosts on the biggest games, same game parlays offers, and any other betting specials to appear here. And don’t think you need to log in to the ESPN Bet app to stay up to date. 

Just like the other best sports betting apps will send out timely notifications, meaning you’ll never miss out on top offers from ESPN Bet when you download the app for Android and iOS from the respective app stores.

ESPN has been in the gambling business since Day 1, given its primacy as the first, major, national sports cable network. Since sports betting was allowed to proliferate nationwide following the Supreme Court’s reversal of PASPA in 2018, point spreads, game totals, and futures odds have been a staple of ESPN programming. 

But the WWL has been happy to take the ad dollars and sponsorship money from the likes of DraftKings, FanDuel, and Caesars Sportsbook. Now, ESPN is leveraging its own brand, as well. 

Its partnership with Penn Entertainment calls for Penn to pay ESPN $150 million a year for 10 years. Depending on performance, ESPN was also granted up to $500 million in warrants to buy shares of PENN stock. Bookies.com learned that ESPN tried to make a deal with DraftKings and FanDuel but neither operator was willing to meet its asking price of $200 million a year combined in cash and stock. 

Meanwhile, PENN sold Barstool Sports back to its founder, Dave Portnoy, for the nominal fee of $1. PENN paid a total of $551 million for Barstool in separate installments in 2019 and in February of 2023. Portnoy still has his money, and now his company. Barstool entered into a partnership with DraftKings after Super Bowl 58.

There are lots of questions. Let’s answer some for you.

Q: Is ESPN BET Live?

The newly re-branded ESPN BET app is Now Live!

ESPN BET is now live in New York. Here are the 19 states where the book is live;

• ESPN BET Pennsylvania
• ESPN BET Michigan
• ESPN BET Illinois
• ESPN BET Indiana
• ESPN BET Colorado
• ESPN BET New Jersey
• ESPN BET Virginia
• ESPN BET Tennessee
• ESPN BET Arizona
• ESPN BET Iowa
• ESPN BET West Virginia
• ESPN BET Kansas
• ESPN BET Maryland
• ESPN BET Ohio
• ESPN BET Massachusetts
• ESPN BET Louisiana
• ESPN BET Kentucky
• ESPN Bet North Carolina
• ESPN BET New York

PENN/Barstool never bothered to get licensed in the Empire State because of the 50% tax on net revenues. But PENN since opted to buy WynnBET's license after its deal with ESPN Bet and received approval to operate in the Empire State days ahead of its launch on September 26.

Q: Will ESPN Be Running Its Own Sportsbook?

A: No. This is basically a naming rightke you would see for a stadium. PENN is paying ESPN $150 million a year for 10 years to use the ESPN brand on its sportsbooks. 

"We are firmly convinced that we will be getting significant value for our marketing dollars by allocating those funds to the single-best brand and platform in the U.S. to reach sports fans and potential bettors," said PENN CEO Jay Snowden after the deal closed on August 8, 2023.

Q: What Is the ESPN BET Promo Code for New Users?

A: The ESPN Bet Promo Code required for new users is BOOKIES to get up to $150 in bonus bets.

Q: Why Did PENN Rebrand Barstool Sportsbook to ESPN BET?

A: Its deal with Barstool never delivered the market share that PENN wanted. PENN holds less than 5% of the national market. That's just not enough. Snowden says he hopes to have 20% of the betting market by 2027. And he plans to spend aggressively outside the ESPN brand to make that happen. 

ESPN delivers a much greater potential reach. ESPN.com had 335.5M visitors last month. Barstoolsports.com had 7 million. Snowden said PENN has 1.5 million more people in its database than it did before the Barstool deal. But it has yet to gain a double-digit market share foothold in any of the states where it available. 

Q: What Are The Details Of The PENN-ESPN BET Deal?

A: PENN has an out after three and seven years if it does not see a certain market share in comparison to some of the larger providers. Those numbers are not known. But PENN has an out in case this doesn’t work. Barstool, meanwhile, is not allowed to return to the sports betting space. If Portnoy sells or monetizes any or all of the company, PENN will be entitled to 50% of that. 

Q: What’s In It For ESPN?

A: $150 million per year for basically nothing. ESPN is being operated as a stand-alone entity by Disney. It has lost about 20% of its cable subscribers since its peak and the Sports Business Journal reported that FOX Sports 1 is now estimated to be in more households with cable than ESPN for the first time ever. 

Streaming doesn’t match the revenue that monthly paid cable subscriptions once did. It needs as many revenue streams as possible. The deal does not prohibit ESPN from selling advertising to PENN’s betting competitors. 

What Is The ESPN BET logo?

A: Here's a look: 

Q: How Will The PENN-ESPN BET Deal Affect The Sports Betting Space?

A: There’s another 800-pound gorilla in the room, along with DraftKings and FanDuel. ESPN immediately becomes a top-tier player because of its size and potential reach. But as we’ve seen in the past with the likes of PointsBet USA and FOX BET, having a network deal doesn’t guarantee success. And ESPN BET's numbers have been underwhelming. 

PENN still has to convert ESPN’s audience into betting customers on its betting app, after its competitors have been advertising on the same platform for 5 years. PENN and ESPN must develop a customer-user experience that matches the quality of those two other operators. Snowden said the current Barstool Sports app will be “reskinned.” 

Q: Isn't There A Conflict of Interest For ESPN?

A: Potentially. And this is where public perceptions matter most. Shams Charania and FanDuel got caught in a conflict-of-interest controversy during the NBA Draft. ESPN will not have any of its “insiders,” such as Adam Schefter and the since-departed Adrian Wojnarowski, appearing on any gambling-related shows. But the deal does include "access and endorsement from top ESPN talent," Snowden said. ESPN prohibits the usage of “non-public information” and bars employees from providing inside information to others for betting purposes. Employees are also banned from betting on "games or events you are assigned to work or cover." It bars "Talent designated as Reporters and Insiders are prohibited from placing, soliciting, or facilitating any bet on the properties (e.g., NFL, college football, NBA) they regularly cover."