There is no denying that my first sports bet was incredibly foolish. It happened during late January 2022, shortly after mobile-gaming apps were legalized in New York. Up until that point, I had paid no attention to these apps. However, when I saw Joe Burrow, the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback, make his entrance into Arrowhead Stadium for the AFC Championship game sporting an extravagant outfit, I knew I had to place a bet. Despite having no prior experience with sports betting, I signed up for a new DraftKings account and used a $100 free bet to place a wager on the Bengals moneyline.
The legalization of mobile sports betting has resulted in a significant boom in the industry. The prevalence of gaming app advertisements is hard to ignore, both in New York and in the numerous other states where sports betting has been legalized. Even in states where betting is not yet legal, discussions revolving around odds and point spreads have become commonplace in sports media, a sharp departure from the past.
Yesterday, ESPN made a groundbreaking announcement that was expected but still unprecedented. The leading sports media company in the United States has entered a 10-year, $2 billion partnership with gaming company Penn Entertainment to launch its very own digital sportsbook, ESPN Bet, this coming fall. This partnership will see ESPN and its talent promoting the sportsbook across their television networks, website, and smartphone apps. It signifies a transformation that would have seemed unimaginable just five years ago. Betting, once on the fringes of mainstream sports, has become an inseparable part of the industry. Gaming companies now sponsor television coverage, arenas bear their names, sportsbooks operate within stadiums, and they even form partnerships with teams. The game is definitively over, with betting emerging as the winner.
For the longest time, acknowledgment that not all viewers engaged with sports purely out of a genuine love for the game was heavily discouraged. The NFL, in particular, prohibited discussion of point spreads during game broadcasts. The arrival of fantasy sports in the 2000s slowly eroded this convention, but it was the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision to allow states to legalize sports gambling that truly marked the turning point. Thanks to a relentless lobbying effort by the gaming industry, 36 states, as well as Washington, D.C., have legalized sports betting—joining Nevada in doing so. The advent of mobile apps for betting has proved especially disruptive, placing the sportsbook within easy reach for millions of new bettors who may have never considered visiting a physical casino. These apps enable impromptu bets, even allowing wagers on specific moments within live games. Companies like DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars, and MGM were quick to capitalize on this gaming revolution, utilizing their existing fantasy sports platforms to tap into the burgeoning market. A 2022 Pew Research Center survey revealed that nearly one in five Americans had placed bets on sports in the previous year, an impressive figure considering the number of populous states, including California and Texas, that have yet to legalize sports gambling.
Betting has become impossible to escape, even for casual sports fans with no personal interest in it. App commercials inundate game broadcasts, sports commentators incorporate gambling jargon into their lexicon, and players and coaches frequently find themselves in the spotlight due to their own gambling activities. As soon as sports gambling was legalized, non-traditional sports media outlets wasted no time in partnering with gaming companies, redirecting their readers to existing services or launching their own platforms. Now, even major broadcast networks have fewer reasons than ever to maintain their previous hardline stance on gambling. They argue that viewer demands have shifted and that failing to enter the betting industry would be a disservice to their audience. ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro acknowledged this in an interview with The Athletic last year, stating, “It’s something that our fans are expecting from us… At this point, it’s pretty much a necessity.”
However, this decision to embrace sports betting comes at a time when media companies are facing significant challenges. While ESPN remains highly profitable, thanks to its cable network, the decline of cable TV makes future growth uncertain. Even with the emergence of streaming subscriptions, it is unlikely that the revenue will fully compensate for the decline in cable viewership. Media executives naturally go where the money is, and for now, the largest sums are being offered to those who encourage viewers to gamble. If even ESPN cannot resist the allure of sports betting and shows no desire to do so, it is safe to say that no one can.
While the promise of substantial profits may seem enticing, it is worth noting that they are not guaranteed and may not last. The intensive and costly marketing campaigns aimed at onboarding new bettors in new markets have strained the finances of many mobile betting apps, resulting in a lack of profitability. The pressure to generate profits will only intensify, as demonstrated by the demise of Fox Bet, which was the closest comparison to what ESPN intends to launch this fall.
Despite the potential challenges, ESPN possesses advantages that surpass those of its competitors, along with numerous conflicts of interest. As the owner of broadcast rights to almost every major sport in America, ESPN wields substantial influence over the industry. It is also the largest source of sports news in the country, and its coverage already impacts how unaffiliated sportsbooks set odds and how regular individuals place their bets. Now, ESPN will have a hand in all three aspects: influencing leagues, informing the public, and setting the betting lines. (ESPN claims that it will strictly separate its journalists from its betting operations.)
For the many fans who find it frustrating to have their sports news filtered through the lens of betting implications, the situation is poised to worsen as ESPN becomes more deeply involved in gaming. Alternatively, it may tempt them into becoming gamblers against their better judgment, just as intended.
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