New York ESPN Bet was already accepting wagers on the Thursday night NFL game pitting the New York Giants against the Dallas Cowboys. However, the official full launch of New York’s ninth sportsbook happens tomorrow, PENN Entertainment told Bonus.
On Sept. 26, a PENN spokesperson confirmed for Bonus:
[ESPN Bet] soft launch[ed] in New York this morning, with an official rollout tomorrow.
Gaming regulators require “soft launches” of betting apps before full deployments in order to find any bugs in the technology or other problems New Yorkers might encounter.
Tomorrow’s full launch means ESPN Bet is open for business in time for Sunday’s football games.
Chris Rogers, chief strategy and legal officer at PENN Entertainment, had promised gaming regulators on Sept. 23 that the app would be ready for a soft launch “in advance of the weekend.”
So, tomorrow’s launch means PENN resolved what Rogers called “a couple of boxes to check and make sure that we are right from a technology standpoint and ready.”
ESPN Bet appeals to a different group of people than other sportsbooks, Rogers told gaming regulators.
Rogers said:
Look, our view is that ESPN Bet will expand the market. … We think we’re attracting a new bettor.
He thinks the “handle,” or total amount wagered by sports bettors, will grow rather than be split among the nine sportsbooks. That’s what he’s seen in ESPN Bet’s previous 17 states, Rogers said. New gamblers who are new to betting.
It helps that ESPN’s content already has “extensive linear and digital reach” in New York, PENN President and CEO Jay Snowden said in the company’s Aug. 8 financial results.
Since mobile sports betting launched on Jan. 8, 2022, New York’s seen $50 billion in handle, according to Legal Sports Report.
Bonus and LSR are Catena Media publications.
New York ESPN Bet Is Official
On Sept. 23, members of the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) unanimously approved PENN Entertainment (Penn Entertainment 18,96 +2,93%) as the new owner of “the license-holding entity” that had been WynnBet Sportsbook. PENN operates ESPN Bet.
In states with legal iGaming and where ESPN Bet operates, the app can also house PENN brand Hollywood Casino. However, New York lawmakers haven’t yet approved online casinos.
PENN announced on Feb. 13 that the company would pay $25 million to buy the entity that held WynnBet’s New York license.
NYSGC Executive Director Robert Williams told commission members on Sept. 23:
Wynn had not been particularly successful in the New York market. So we would anticipate that a new platform coming in with a highly recognized name like ESPN Bet might do better.
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