Penn Entertainment to Buy New York Wynn Betting License for ESPN Bet
ESPN's Betting App Enters The Empire State

Ever since it was announced over the summer that Penn Entertainment — formerly the owner of Barstool Sports and its Barstool Sportsbook — would be rebranding its sportsbook as ESPN Bet in conjunction with the Worldwide Leader, it was readily apparent that Penn would try to bring ESPN Bet to as many markets as possible. But, for awhile, Penn couldn’t access one of the US’s most populous states: New York. Now, though, Penn has acquired a NY sports betting license which paves the way for ESPN Bet to launch in the Empire State.
By buying Wynn Interactive’s license to operate in New York for $25 million, Penn will — after certain regulatory approvals are made — be able to launch its betting outfit in the massive New York market. Interestingly, Penn was always shut out of New York with Barstool Sportsbook, making it so that one of the best online betting sites never got the chance to take wagers in the state. Penn wasn’t able to acquire a license in January 2022, when betting became legal in New York, and thus missed out on a lot of bettors.
Penn wasn’t about to make the same mistake this time around, swooping in to acquire Wynn’s license which had previously been used for Wynn’s own sports betting app. However, Wynn has been shutting down its betting operations in multiple states as it never seemed to gain much of a foothold in such a hotly contested industry.
ESPN Bet Means Business
Of course, any big betting operator entering a state with the size, influence and money of New York is huge gambling news. While it won’t be easy for ESPN Bet to jump right in and dominate a state where DraftKings and FanDuel are already huge (and there are other competitors), the name-brand of ESPN — coupled with Penn’s existing infrastructure — should make ESPN Bet a formidable entrant.
New York is the country’s fourth-biggest state by population and has the biggest city, which just so happens to be the center of the sports world (and is where ESPN has a major studio). Having New York under its belt is a big coup for ESPN Bet as it begins the tough climb from new app to breaking into the mainstream. Bettors tend to stick with what they’re used to betting on so ESPN Bet will need to craft some enticing promos for New York users to get them to switch.
Having the NY sports betting license is massive for Penn. In January 2024, New York sportsbooks set a record for generating over $211 million in revenue on a $2 billion overall handle. The revenue figure was the largest collected by any state in the (albeit short) history of legal sports betting in the US. Granted, that number was buoyed by playoff football and figures to come down as hockey and basketball season continues but it is still an enormous number. ESPN Bet is looking to carve out a chunk of those winnings for itself.
New York Was A Must For ESPN Bet
The New York expansion is a fascinating development when you consider what Penn CEO Jay Snowden said on an earnings call in 2021. Snowden said that he didn’t “think a single operator will make money in New York” because of the high tax rates imposed on operators and due to the fact that a lot of New York City residents (and people from the surrounding suburbs) could just go into New Jersey to place their bets.
Now, less than three years later, his gambling betting strategies with respect to where ESPN Bet should go have clearly changed. It is a no-brainer for a new operator to get into the New York market even if ESPN Bet is relatively late in the game and won’t be live for a few months. New York is just too big to ignore and the betting handle and revenue numbers attest to that.
ESPN Bet will need to shell out a lot of cash initially to attract bettors but with around eight years left on a 10-year NY sports betting license term, Penn has the runway to make that kind of large investment. That’s a big win for bettors who will soon be able to benefit from yet another round of promos from a large-scale operator trying to gain new converts. Look for the final regulatory approvals to come down the pipeline relatively soon because there isn’t expected to be much, if any, legal pushback over Penn taking over Wynn’s license.
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