ESPN BET’s New Linking Feature For PENN Entertainment

There has been pressure on PENN Entertainment‘s product, ESPN BET, to perform during this football season. Yet, with one full month of data in the books, ESPN BET has not gotten off to the start it would have hoped for in Pennsylvania.

However, ESPN BET PA could get a boost in the Keystone over the next several months. PENN Entertainment announced linking integration between the company’s sports betting app and the ESPN app, which has been long-awaited.

PENN Entertainment has two full months left of football for this new feature to take shape. The company is hoping it can change the fortunes of ESPN BET among PA online sportsbooks.

ESPN BET hits lowest market share in September

PENN Entertainment has endured pressure from shareholders after a failed investment in Barstool, which has been coupled with the operator’s poor performance, especially in Pennsylvania.

The company has been linked to multiple sale reports in recent months, but this football season can quiet critics. However, ESPN BET has not done so in September, which is the first of four critical months.

The operator reported $33.3 million in handle and $3.2 million in revenue. That represents a 4.1% market share in the Keystone State, which is the lowest its ever been. According to the graph, the product’s market share has dipped gradually since April:

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The 4.1% in September is a far cry from the 8.9% market share ESPN recorded during its first full month in operation last December. It has only gone downhill, ever so slowly, since.

Should the downward trend continue, rumors about a potential sale are only going to get louder as the winter approaches.

ESPN BET finished less than $2 million in handle above bet365 Sportsbook PA, which launched in July as the state’s newest platform. Fanatics Sportsbook PA, going live earlier this year, finished ahead of ESPN BET for the second straight month.

New feature links ESPN app to sports betting platform

There’s no doubt that ESPN has a massive following. After all, it calls itself the worldwide leader in sports. In an October press release, the company announced the following engagement metrics:

194.6 million unique users across ESPN Digital, YouTube and social platforms
24.8 million unique ESPN app users
9.3 million unique ESPN Fantasy app users
Those are some impressive numbers that the operator needs to leverage to be a successful operator. That has finally come to fruition.

PENN Entertainment and ESPN announced an account linking feature between the betting platform and the ESPN app. Mike Morrison, ESPN BET Vice President, said in a statement:

“Linking ESPN and ESPN BET accounts is part of the seamless, integrated betting experience we envisioned from the start. No other company in the betting space can offer the level of personalization or interconnected experience that ESPN BET provides.”

Here is what sports fans and bettors can expect from the feature:

Deeply integrated media and betting experience
Track upcoming, live and settled bets within the ESPN app and on ESPN.com
Personalized bets and timely promotions based on customers’ favorite sports, teams, players, and fantasy rosters
Aaron LaBerge, PENN Entertainment Chief Technology Officer, also commented:

“Bringing this new feature to market is an important step as we work to create a fully interconnected media and betting ecosystem between ESPN and ESPN BET.

“Account linking allows us to better serve and engage our users by unlocking key personalization and promotional capabilities. This feature is just the beginning of deeper integrations that will further differentiate the ESPN BET experience.”

What’s to come for ESPN BET

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) will release October revenue later this month, which is another pivotal for Pennsylvania sportsbooks.

October contained five full slates of NFL Sunday’s and four Saturday’s of college football. However, since ESPN announced the new linking feature last week, the impact likely won’t be felt until this month. The PGCB will release November results in the mid-December.

ESPN BET has a big climb before it starts reaching a double-digit market share total, which likely won’t be realized in October.

November and December is going to determine the impact of the new feature, and the fate of ESPN BET as a whole.

Source: Play Pennsylvania