Illinois bettors and sports fans, say hello to ESPN BET!
ESPN BET, the new rebranded sports betting mobile app from ESPN and Penn Entertainment, officially launched Tuesday afternoon in Illinois sports betting.
ESPN BET is now live across 16 other states where the Barstool-to-ESPN BET rebrand will take place. The others are: Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. ESPN BET is a separate marketing deal for PENN Entertainment. Barstool Sports and its Massachusetts mobile betting apps entry was a wholly owned subsidiary of PENN.
How ESPN BET Will Work
PENN Entertainment is to pay ESPN $150 million a year for 10 years, with an out clause after three years and again after seven. Depending on performance, ESPN was also granted up to $500 million in warrants to buy shares of PENN stock.
Former Barstool Sportsbook account holders will roll over to an ESPN BET account, including any money they might have had as a balance within the account. Barstool users will be prompted to download the new ESPN BET Illinois app once available and use their Barstool Sportsbook credentials to access their accounts. Account details, pending wagers, and any balances will transition over. Obviously, new customers will have to download the new mobile app themselves.
Last Friday, ESPN’s “Daily Wager” show became “ESPN BET Live.” Throughout the weekend, you saw ESPN Bet info on the cable giant’s sports tickers, show segments, etc.
What a day to launch a sports betting app as college basketball powerhouses square off in the State Farm Champions Classic at the United Center in Chicago. Michigan State faces Duke at 7 p.m. and Kentucky plays Kansas at 9:30 p.m.
Of course, both games will be televised by ESPN. You will want to have an ESPN Bet Illinois promo code on hand if you choose to wager.
Now that ESPN BET is live, the next online sportsbook that Illinois is anticipating is the Fanatics sportsbook in 2024.
