A little over a week after announcing its market access deal with Monumental Sports, ESPN Bet is now live in the District of Columbia.
This is the 20th U.S. market for Penn’s ESPN Bet brand.
“We’re thrilled to launch ESPN BET in our nation’s capital and expand our presence across the Washington metropolitan area,” said Penn Entertainment CTO Aaron LaBerge. “Along with our partner ESPN, we’re excited to introduce our deeply integrated media and betting experience and further engage with the D.C. area’s passionate sports community.”
Six betting apps now live in the DC area
The launch of ESPN Bet brings the total number of betting apps in DC to six. DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics, Caesars and BetMGM have all launched there within the past year.
While the DC market continues to expand and flourish, Intralot remains in hot water. The original sports betting contractor for the DC Lottery recently agreed to pay a $5 million fine related to corruption in obtaining the exclusive contract when DC first legalized sports betting back in 2019.
The lottery paid Intralot $215 million for a five-year contract that produced the underperforming Gambet app. The lottery monopoly drew intense criticism from the DC Council, who voted to expand the sports betting market last year.
The opening of the maket drastically increased betting handle and revenue for the district.
ESPN Bet continues to lean into TV personalities
It’s been a busy week for ESPN Bet, which also debuted a new responsible gambling PSA series called The Talk. The first spot in the series features SportsCenter anchor Elle Duncan and tries to frame sports betting as a hobby that may have occasional victories but is one that includes a lot of losses.
The app continues to grow and lean into its partnership with the Worldwide Leader in Sports but the once-stated goal of 20% market share is still far out of reach. The app currently holds around 3% of the market, which is comparable to its market share when it was Barstool Sportsbook.
