Betting Tie-Ins Planned for New ESPN Streaming Service

Sports broadcasting network ESPN is planning to incorporate enhanced betting tie-ins into its new streaming service, which will launch later this year.

Ziv Chen

Last updated: May 16, 2025 1:20 PM EDT • 2 min read

Betting Tie-Ins Planned for New ESPN Streaming Service — Pictured: ESPN BET broadcasts inside the PGA Tour Studios building in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Photo by Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union via Imagn Images.

Sports broadcasting network ESPN is planning to incorporate enhanced betting tie-ins for its new streaming service, set to launch later this year.

ESPN's Chairman, Jimmy Pitaro, confirmed that the streaming app will cost $29.99 monthly and be released in the fall. He also said that it will include a variety of enhanced betting tie-ins, which is good news for betting operator Penn Entertainment, which owns the rights to the ESPN BET trademark through a multi-year agreement.

Reports suggest that ESPN is still working on the final details of the betting enhancements, and further updates will follow throughout the summer.

Market share boost

The changes may boost ESPN BET’s market share in the US sports betting sector, which could not be more timely for Penn Entertainment. The ESPN BET brand lags far behind leading sportsbook operators FanDuel and DraftKings in terms of market share.

Figures released for the end of March 2025 showed that DraftKings and FanDuel had 36.7% and 34.8% of the sports betting market, respectively, representing a collective share of 71.5%. BetMGM was at 7.8%, Caesars at 5.2%, and ESPN BET had just a 3.2% market share. This figure lags well behind our best sports betting sites.

Penn’s deal with ESPN was signed in the summer of 2023. It is a 10-year agreement worth $1.5 billion, through which the betting company can use ESPN BET branding on its platform. The deal does include an opt-out clause, however, allowing either party to walk away after three years.

Yet, despite its dwindling market share value, the sportsbook platform has also gone live in the DC sports betting market through a partnership with the entertainment group Monumental Sports & Entertainment. The launch marked ESPN BET’s 20th jurisdiction in which it operates.

Watch and bet foundation

Speaking at an event on Tuesday, Jimmy Pitaro indicated that the ‘watch and bet’ feature could be the foundation for increasing personalisation of ESPN’s SportsCenter. That could include viewers being able to choose which segments they wished to see.

At that event, the Vice President of ESPN BET, Mike Morrison, was asked if sports betting could be part of that development. Although he suggested that including a betting element could create some difficulties due to the rights issue, he added that he was intrigued by the idea of providing streaming game passes to give people an incentive to wager on an event.

Currently, however, there is no evidence that such a feature will be introduced, and it may prove controversial to those worried about the impact of the deepening link between sports broadcasting and the betting industry on social and sports integrity.

Written By:
Ziv Chen

Ziv has over two decades of experience in the igaming and sports betting industry, having served in senior marketing and business development positions with both B2C and B2B companies, including Playtech and Microgaming. In 2019, Ziv decided to pursue his passion for writing and became a fulltime industry journalist, covering casino, sports, and gambling business news. He’s specialties include casino games and technology, US state gambling regulation, company performance, as well as gambling affiliates and marketing. As a Pitt graduate, Ziv is a diehard fan of all Pittsburgh sports teams, with the Steelers at the top of the list. In his free time, he enjoys reading crime fiction, biographies (mainly of sports personalities, but not only) and American history. Ziv’s Favorite quote: “We're going to pursue perfection, knowing full well we won't catch it, but we're going to relentlessly chase it," Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach.