Penn Attempts to Boost ESPN Bet Platform with Account Linking

ESPN Bet customers are about to get a significant upgrade in their wagering experience.

Penn Entertainment has announced that sportsbook customers can now link their account with the rest of ESPN’s products. That means if you play ESPN Fantasy Sports or subscribe to ESPN+, you can use that same account to be on sports. This will offer bettors a customized experience, something their rivals cannot match.

“Linking ESPN and ESPN BET accounts is part of the seamless, integrated betting experience we envisioned from the start," said Mike Morrison, vice president of ESPN BET and ESPN Fantasy, in a press release. "No other company in the betting space can offer the level of personalization or interconnected experience that ESPN BET provides.”

Bettors who link their accounts can easily access bets and promos for their favorite teams. When they wager on games, they’ll be able to see updates and scores on the ESPN app. This is a betting experience that no other rival can match.

ESPN Bet’s account linking feature launched just one month after the sportsbook launched in New York, the largest market in the US. 

Will Linking Eleveate ESPN Bet?

ESPN Bet has had mixed results since going live a year ago. As impressive as the ESPN brand is, the platform struggled to pull customers away from the industry’s top players. The hope is that account linking will change that.

While the returns may not have been what Penn had hoped, account linking could change that. Tens of millions of ESPN customers, many of whom are wagering on other sportsbooks, could be brought to ESPN Bet by the ability to link accounts, boosting the platform to a new tier in the US sports betting industry.

Some concerns exist over linking gambling and non-gambling accounts and Penn’s history. The operator previously ran Barstool Sportsbook, but the brand decided to pull out after fines piled up over how the sportsbook was being promoted. States like Massachusetts have clashed with Penn several times over similar issues, citing the company's lack of communication. Time will tell if that history will put ESPN Bet’s account linking feature in the crosshairs of regulators.