The numbers are in, and ESPN Bet has got off to a modest start in New York. The latest weekly report from the New York State Gaming Commission showed that the PENN-owned sportsbook took a $9.1 million handle and made $1.1 million in gross gaming revenue for the week ending Oct. 6, the sportsbook’s first full week of action in the state.
ESPN Bet launched in the state on Friday, Sept. 27. Across the sportsbook’s first 10 days in the Empire State, it took $12.1 million in sports bets and made $1.3 million in gross revenue.
The full-week handle of $9.1 million means ESPN ranked seventh for handle in New York last week, behind FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars, Fanatics and marginally below Rush Street Interactive’s $9.4 million handle. ESPN is already far outpacing New York’s two least-used sportsbooks, Bally Bet and Resorts World.
ESPN Bet sat sixth in the state for revenue in its first full week, as its GGR was a hair above BetRivers‘ $1.0 million.
All in all, it’s a fairly humdrum start in a lucrative and highly populated state for which PENN has high hopes for its ESPN Bet brand.
The ESPN media app has an estimated 10 million users in the state. PENN will have eyes on cross-selling as many of those as possible to the ESPN Bet app, aided by the “seamless” integration between the two apps that it is currently finalizing in the U.S. market.
ESPN Bet replaced WynnBET in New York after that brand shut down in the state in late July. For comparison, ESPN took more money in bets in its first full week in the state than WynnBET had done in New York in any month this year.
PENN shouts about ESPN’s New York start
At an investor event at M Resort & Casino in Henderson, NV this week, PENN executives pulled some selected stats on ESPN Bet’s U.S. market position to highlight to shareholders and analysts.
The company noted that ESPN Bet has accrued 1.8 million users since it first became available last year, contributing an 85% uptick in PENN’s total customer base. Year over year, the joint-venture brand’s GGR is up 151% and monthly unique users have risen 161%.
PENN said on Monday, before the first full-week results were published, that so far in New York, ESPN Bet has seen “strong to-date New York cohort vs. existing states.” For the company’s first three days of operation in the Empire State, average daily handle per bettor was 296% higher in New York than its nationwide average, while New Yorkers deposited double the average amount, said PENN.
Ultimately, PENN said it now expected ESPN Bet to lose less than initially expected in Q3 2024, thanks to a “better-than-expected hold, driven by a higher parlay mix from our improving product and lower promotional expenses.”
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