ESPN BET Officially Launches in New York This Morning

PENN Entertainment finally received some good news in the Empire State earlier this week, when the New York State Game Commission (NYSGC) unanimously authorized ESPN BET to do business.

As the country’s biggest sports gambling market, access to New York was viewed as essential to ESPN BET’s long-term success.

While PENN initially hoped to have the sportsbook up and running in the state by the time football season began, regulatory delays eventually frustrated those efforts.

New York City. Credit: Disney

To crack the New York market, PENN purchased the state license from WynnBET for $25 million. From there, it was all up to the Gaming Commission.

ESPN BET Will Launch in New York on Friday

According to Action Network, during the proceedings, PENN executive Chris Rogers stated that ESPN BET would be ready to launch “in a matter of days—perhaps even a soft launch ahead of this weekend.”

Photo: ESPN

As it turns out, PENN is wasting no time in getting ESPN BET off the ground in New York. The sportsbook will be available to Empire State customers beginning Friday morning, giving users plenty of time to acclimate before the full weekend of college football and NFL action.

ESPN

“We’re grateful to the New York State Gaming Commission for its approval and we’re in the process of readying our product for launch in New York in the coming days,” PENN said in a statement to Action Network.

All Eyes Are on the Sportsbook

Since launching last year, ESPN BET has struggled to make inroads in the gambling sphere. Due to the high-profile nature of the partnership between PENN and ESPN BET, as well as the former’s decision to sell Barstool Sports back to founder Dave Portnoy for just $1, the performance of the new sportsbook has been closely analyzed.

Photo: CNBC

With New York now open, however, the decision to swap Barstool for ESPN is finally paying dividends.