ESPN is finally getting into the sportsbook space.
On Tuesday, the company announced that it has reached an agreement with PENN Entertainment to launch ESPN Bet — an ESPN-branded sportsbook.
In the press release, ESPN stated that Barstool Sportsbook — which PENN took full control of as part of its full acquisition of Barstool Sports in February — will be rebranded as ESPN Bet in the Fall.
“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,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. “The strategy here is simple: to give fans what they’ve been requesting and expecting from ESPN.
In an apparent coordinated effort, Barstool founder Dave Portnoy announced that he had bought the company back from PENN.
“For the first time in a decade, I own 100% of Barstool Sports,” Portnoy said in his video.
