PENN Entertainment CEO Jay Snowden recently told investors that ESPN Bet will be fully integrated into ESPN’s digital properties in the very near future. It’s a move aimed at fully nailing down ESPN’s massive online audience into its gaming ecosystem. It’s also a move that could garner criticism for exposing that very same massive online audience (which includes plenty of children) to gambling.
Snowden explained his plan recently during a Q1 earnings call and said it will start with the very popular ESPN Fantasy app. That integration, he said, should take place as soon as a couple of weeks from now and will include features like parlay tracking and personalized in-app betting offers.
Also on the call was Aaron LaBerge, PENN’s chief technology officer who explained the value of this type of personalisation in customer acquisition and retention. “When you think about knowing the personalization, uses, preferences of all of those people and being able to target them… and then moving them seamlessly between the apps with no friction, it is a massive opportunity. We know that no matter what betting app you’re on, you’re tracking the game on ESPN,” he said in comments reported on SBC Americas.
ESPN Bet’s parlay offerings will also be enhanced during this process as Snowden explained saying, “Our parlay offering is going to be significantly better at the start of football season than it’s ever been. Without getting into too much detail, it’s going to be a significant improvement from what people experienced last year.”
Most of the changes Snowden mentioned will take place before US football’s regular season starts in late August.