Penn Entertainment has announced ESPN BET will launch in New York in 2024. The company has secured access to the New York sports betting market through a $25 million transaction with Wynn Resorts. This amount matches what Wynn paid the state of New York to operate there.
In 2001, Wynn Interactive (a subsidiary of Wynn Resorts) was awarded a mobile sports betting license for New York, however, Penn was not. Since that time, CNBC reports at least $35.7 billion has been wagered in New York. The state of New York has had the highest betting handle of any state all but one month since launching two years ago.
Speculation at the time of the licenses being awarded was that Penn lost out on a license due to its partnership with Barstool Sports and the controversies surrounding its founder Dave Portnoy. Last year, Penn sold Barstool back to Portnoy. Then, Penn made a $1.5 billion deal over 10 years to license the ESPN brand and launched ESPN BET in November.
“This is an important development that will bring ESPN BET to the largest regulated online sports wagering market in North America,” said Jay Snowden, PENN Entertainment CEO and President, in a press release. “Together with ESPN, we’re building a brand that is synonymous with sports betting, and operating in the New York market is key as we grow ESPN BET across the U.S.”
According to information from Sportsbettingdime.com, FanDuel is the leader in the state of New York with 40.7% of the state’s total handle running through their platform. In comparison, WynnBET accounted for just 0.5% of the state’s total online sports betting handle.
New York gaming regulators will still need to sign off on the license transfer from Wynn to Penn.
