By John Jackson 
Sports broadcasting giant ESPN and Penn Entertainment’s ESPN Bet announced Friday that customers with accounts on both platforms can now link those accounts for what the companies hope will be a deeper, more entertaining wagering experience.
ESPN Bet clients who link their betting accounts with ESPN.com and the sports network’s mobile application will be able to follow pending, settled, and upcoming wagers. The new linkage plan could also pave the way for ESPN and Penn to offer users more customized promotions.
“With this product enhancement, ESPN BET will soon bring fans more personalized bets and timely promotions based on their favorite sports, teams, players, and fantasy rosters. Account linking can be accessed either via a prompt within the ESPN BET app or by visiting settings within the latest versions of the ESPN BET or ESPN apps or ESPN.com,” according to a statement issued by the companies.
ESPN Bet is available in the following states: Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Linking ESPN And ESPN Bet Accounts Is A Practical Move
Penn is paying Walt Disney $1.5 billion over 10 years for use of the ESPN brand, indicating that it behooves both companies to capitalize on the sports network’s strong recognition among sports fans.
That capitalization should occur via as many outlets as are practical, and the account linkage is a step in that direction. However, naysayers may be apt to ponder what took the two companies so long to roll out the connected accounts plan. Penn announced plans to pay Disney for the rights to use ESPN Bet branding in August 2023.
News of the account connectivity comes at a time when data suggest ESPN Bet is still lagging its entrenched rivals in the sports wagering space — namely DraftKings and FanDuel. In fairness to the Penn unit, every other online sportsbook operator in the business lags those two firms.
Moreover, data indicate ESPN Bet is making strides this football season, and the operator is proving adept at winning share among new sports bettors and those who typically wager $50 to $200 per event.
Account Linking Is Part Of ESPN Bet’s Technology Plans
Penn is focusing on enhancing ESPN Bet’s technological capabilities, with the account linking feature with ESPN being part of this initiative. The hiring of Aaron LaBerge as chief technology officer (CTO) in April also supports this effort.
“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,” he said in the statement.
Before joining Penn, LaBerge spent more than two decades at Disney, including four years at ESPN where he was vice president and CTO. He was one of the executives who oversaw the sports network’s digital content expansion.