ESPN Bet’s active sports betting and online casino customers have more than doubled since the third quarter of 2023 following the app’s launch in November of last year.
That’s according to Penn Entertainment’s Q3 earnings call, which also pointed out some positive trends in Penn’s retail and online casino portfolios.
ESPN Bet approaches active-user milestone
Penn’s earnings call revealed several interesting data points about ESPN Bet, whose online operations can’t seem to catch up to bigger names such as Caesars and BetMGM.
Penn CEO Jay Snowden noted that year-on-year growth in monthly active users hit 127% from June to August. Additionally, the company noted that ESPN Bet membership is approaching 4 million people.
Other interesting figures Penn brought up:
- ESPN Bet sportsbooks are active in 19 states, representing nearly half of the US population.
- New York is a gold mine, with the average daily amount bet coming in at 228% higher than the average in ESPN Bet’s other states.
- Bettors can now link their ESPN Bet and ESPN accounts, allowing them to track bets on the ESPN app and website.
Snowden seemed particularly happy with the ESPN Bet/ESPN account linking.
“Bringing this new feature to market is an important step towards creating an industry-leading personalized sports betting experience across the ESPN ecosystem,” he said. “This was a tremendous achievement for the talented Penn and ESPN technology teams and really speaks to the depth of our partnership with ESPN.”
Penn said customers’ promotional spending increased higher than the competition at the beginning of the NFL season.
Retail customers help Penn growth in Ohio, Massachusetts
Penn’s land-based casinos increased their market share in key states such as Ohio and Massachusetts in Q3. Penn needed it, too: Revenue was down for its properties in the Northeast, and bad weather in the South caused lower-than-expected betting handle.
“Overall, we are seeing stable consumer demand and are performing well in those markets not impacted by new competition,” Snowden said.
Numbers looked strong in October and the beginning of November, too, Snowden said.
Online casino breaking free from ESPN Bet
On the iGaming side, Penn confirmed an upcoming shift for Pennsylvania online casino customers: Its Hollywood Casino app will launch in the Keystone State in “early Q1″ of 2025.
Snowden said Pennsylvania will be the first domino to fall for Hollywood Casino.
“…We should be able to follow pretty quickly in states like Michigan, again pending regulatory approval in New Jersey, West Virginia and in Ontario (Canada),” Snowden said. “We think Hollywood Casino will perform very well.”
