ESPN Entering Into Betting With ESPN Bet Sportsbook

ESPN and Penn Entertainment, sports content and gambling company, will launch a sportsbook this fall, ESPN said Tuesday. ESPN said Penn will rebrand and relaunch its current sportsbook as ESPN Bet, launching in 16 states where Penn is licensed. ESPN's finally agreeing to a sportsbook licensing deal "to help stem the growing profitability hole facing ESPN isn’t shocking," Lightfield's Rich Greenfield wrote Wednesday. But the deal raises questions about why ESPN partnered with Penn rather than sports betting market leaders like FanDuel or DraftKings, he said.