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SPORTS BETTING
ESPN BET : THE LEGEND COMES TO LIFE
Mike Morrison , vice-president of sports betting at ESPN , tells Marese O ’ Hagan how sports betting ’ s biggest launch is set to upend the market – and what makes ESPN Bet the premier choice for sports fans
W hen iGB first spoke with Mike Morrison last August , he was bullish about ESPN Bet ’ s potential to be the best sportsbook on the market . At the time it had been only a few weeks since ESPN had clinched its $ 1.5bn (£ 1.18bn /€ 1.37bn ) deal with Penn Entertainment , officially choosing the operator to manage the ESPN Bet sportsbook .
Three months later and ESPN Bet had exploded onto the scene . With the launch being so highly anticipated , iGB is keen to establish how it went .
“ Really smooth ,” says Morrison . “ We ’ re thrilled . Everything is working very well . Some of the early reviews we ’ ve seen are really good . Teams are energised and excited on both sides .”
The whirlwind launch saw ESPN Bet hit 17 US states on 14 November 2023 , which was a timescale Morrison praises as “ above expectations ”.
“ We moved pretty fast ,” he explains . “ We reached the agreement in August and three months later , we ’ re in the market with a new sportsbook , a new brand , a new experience for fans . A lot ’ s happened fairly quickly .”
With the launch now behind him , Morrison admits the mammoth opportunity presented here is not
“ As many famous people have said , pressure is a privilege . We absolutely feel that here ” taken lightly . “ As many famous people have said , pressure is a privilege . We absolutely feel that here .”
WILL ESPN HANDLE THE PRESSURE ? It ’ s no overestimation to call ESPN Bet sports betting ’ s biggest launch to date . So , it ’ s fair to assume there ’ s a lot riding on its success .
“ We ’ re surely in a position where we want to be very successful here ,” Morrison asserts . “ We are , by our natures , competitive and excited on high levels of achievement .
“ You have a lot of what we ’ ll call Type-A personalities on both sides , and we desire to be successful here .”
ESPN ’ s presence in the sports betting market stands out for more reasons than one . To no one ’ s surprise , ESPN Bet will rely on the existing trust in its brand – a
ICE LONDON 2024 • ISSUE 135 • 37