PENN Entertainment’s ESPN BET is launching new features and promotions for its sportsbook app as it looks to build market share and revenue during the U.S.' most-wagered upon sporting event.
On Sunday, the sportsbook completed integrating with ESPN Tournament Challenge, a bracket prediction contest that draws millions of participants each year. ESPN BET users who wager $20 or more on a future bet for a tournament champion earn $10 in bonus bets for each of those teams' wins, as well as a share of $2 million if that school secures the title.
The March-specific cross-promotions extend to PENN’s Hollywood Casino’s standalone online gaming app, available in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan. In an email to Covers, company officials said the book is already seeing iGaming growth in multiple key metrics to start 2025.
PENN also unveiled its new sports live streaming capabilities. Though ESPN has no broadcast rights for the NCAA Men’s basketball tournament, it's the exclusive home of the Women’s tournament, which set record ratings in recent years.
This joins ESPN’s continued integration and promotion with the ESPN app and its 24/7 sports network. Betting lines are prominently featured on ESPN programs’ scrolling bottom lines and company personalities have increasingly addressed games, including March Madness competitions, within the context of gambling.
ESPN BET looks to build momentum
ESPN BET’s new push comes ahead of the three-week March Madness tournaments, expected to draw more than $3 billion in bets with legal sportsbooks. Though the Super Bowl is the most wagered-upon individual game in the U.S. each year, the cumulative NCAA Men’s and Women's Basketball Tournaments typically draw more than twice the betting handle, with the lion's share coming on the men's competition.
This is the second March Madness for ESPN BET after its Nov. 2023 introduction. The company originally projected a path to 20% market share within its first few years of launching, but growth stalled in the mid-to-low digits nationally.
PENN hoped the ESPN brand name would resonate with bettors after its former branding deal with Barstool Sports also led to only low single-digit market share. Both PENN and ESPN parent Disney predicted the massive reach of the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” online, through its app and TV programming would translate to betting interest that would make the new book one of the nation’s three most wagered-upon platforms.
Instead, PENN isn't projected to be in the top five legal sportsbooks in nationwide handle. ESPN's app has more than 25 million monthly active users, but only about 3% of those above age 21 and living in a live ESPN BET mobile jurisdiction integrated their app’s account with the sportsbook.
PENN officials remain bullish that improving technical elements and extended betting options on the recently redesigned app, combined with ESPN's partnership, will let it to close the gap on U.S. market share leaders FanDuel and DraftKings. The two combined for roughly 80% of the U.S. market, with both attributing much of their success to in-house betting products, especially the ability to offer pre-game and live single-game parlays.
These single-game parlays have become increasingly popular among bettors while generating the books' higher profit margins. Practically all U.S. sportsbook operators stressed the importance of offering – and promoting – these new and expanding parlay options to their company’s financial bottom line.
Both PENN and Disney can opt out of the deal in summer 2026.
