ESPN, a company owned by Walt Disney, and casino owner Penn Entertainment have agreed to jointly provide sports betting services under the ESPN Bet brand.
Under the terms of the deal, Penn will pay ESPN $1.5 billion in cash and provide warrants worth about $500 million to purchase its stock over the first 10 years. In return, ESPN will provide the brand, advertising services, and other rights. The goal of this partnership is to provide audiences with a sports betting experience as well as betting content.
Penn plans to rebrand its betting service and relaunch it as ESPN Bet in the 16 states where the company has licenses.Importantly, ESPN will have the option to appoint a non-voting or voting observer to Penn's board of directors after three years.
