Erin Dolan recently made her on-air debut as an in-game betting analyst for ESPN coverage of the United Football League (UFL), delivering her insights and expertise on betting lines, handles and props. Working alongside play-by-play announcer Joe Tessitore and analyst Jesse Palmer, she contributed to the overall broadcast on the primary feed as more states around the country have legalized sports betting over the years. Ariel Epstein, who works as a sports betting analyst across a variety of media entities, recently launched her own Prop Queen Sports venture and accompanying podcast where she elaborated on this development.
Epstein articulated that it was important for listeners to hear what was taking place in the sports betting world and qualified her thoughts by conveying that this is where she saw the industry moving. In addition, she expressed her congratulations to Dolan and talked about how this could catalyze further growth and promulgation of the business.
“Outside of these shows where in sports betting, we should do regular sports talk shows and just incorporate sports betting into it, putting a sports betting analyst in the booth is huge for all of us,” Epstein said. “I’m not like these people on social media who root for everyone in the sports betting industry to die. I actually root for the sports betting industry to do well. The sports betting business is where I make my money, not just in betting, in my career. If you want to be in sports betting, you’re rooting for this.”
In discussing Dolan’s participation in the broadcast, Epstein compared it to a referee going into the booth for an NFL game and expressing their opinions on a play. Although she is not sure the NFL would be open to instantiating such a position in broadcast booths for its games, she believes that other sports such as hockey, basketball and baseball have embraced betting.
“I was thinking Apple games,” Epstein said. “They have all those percentage changes of things happening during Major League Baseball games. How do you not have a sports betting analyst in the booth talking about that?”
Epstein averred that the mainstream needs to become involved in sports betting and that those in the industry ultimately want to see it grow. Furthermore, she divulged that the future of sports betting is going to be in-game analysis and that such an immersion would not take a long time. Responsibilities under the position could presumably include giving best bets and analyzing live lines to ultimately bring the audience into the space, and she referred to the advent as “a genius move” as sports media continues to evolve.
“We’ve got so much opportunity to teach people how to live bet, to each people about the odds, to bring storylines into sports betting,” Epstein said. “I’m all excited about it, I think it’s really good for the business.”
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