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ESPN BET, the newest contender in the online sports betting arena, has been shattering download records since its launch. However, there’s more to these figures than meets the eye. This surge in downloads is partially influenced by PENN Entertainment Inc.’s strategic move.
Since ESPN BET’s launch on November 14 in 17 states, it has seen over 1.2 million downloads, as noted by investment bank Jefferies. On its first full day, the app recorded approximately 235,000 downloads. This impressive figure surpasses the previous single-day record held by DraftKings, which saw 210,000 downloads on Super Bowl 2023’s day. ESPN BET’s debut also outdid FanDuel’s download numbers from the past three Super Bowls.
Jefferies highlighted that since its introduction, ESPN BET accounted for 77% of all downloads among top sportsbook apps. This leaves DraftKings with an 8% share and FanDuel at 7%.
The background story to these numbers involves PENN Entertainment Inc., which operates both the Barstool Sportsbook and ESPN BET. Earlier this year, PENN ended its association with Barstool, rebranding the online sportsbook to ESPN BET as part of a significant $2 billion marketing agreement with ESPN.
It has to be noted however that an essential factor in ESPN BET’s download surge is PENN’s encouragement to its Barstool Sportsbook users to switch to the new ESPN BET app. This strategy raises questions about the real growth of new customers versus the migration of existing users from one platform to another.