ESPN is officially getting into the sports betting game.
The self-described “worldwide leader in sports,” which is owned by The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications, announced on Tuesday it had partnered with gambling giant Penn Entertainment to launch “ESPN BET,” a branded sportsbook for fans in the United States.
The rebrand will include updates to ESPN’s mobile app, website, and mobile website to include access to sports betting, the company said.
“Our primary focus is always to serve sports fans and we know they want both betting content and the ability to place bets with less friction from within our products,” Jimmy Pitaro, the Chairman of ESPN, said in a statement announcing the move. “The strategy here is simple: to give fans what they’ve been requesting and expecting from ESPN. PENN Entertainment is the perfect partner to build an unmatched user experience for sports betting with ESPN BET.”
Penn will pay $1.5 billion in cash to ESPN over a ten-year term as part of the deal, Variety reported.
Sports gambling has exploded in popularity in the United States in recent years after the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling lifting federal restrictions on betting.
Like many sports media outlets, ESPN has poured millions of dollars into multi-platform sports betting content, adding digital programming, radio segments and editorial coverage.
Penn had previously owned Barstool Sportsbook, which it separately announced on Thursday it had divested back to Barstool founder Dave Portnoy in exchange for certain non-compete “and other restrictive covenants.” Penn will also have the right to receive 50 percent of the gross proceeds Portnoy gains “in any subsequent sale or other monetization event of Barstool .”