ESPN Will Prohibit Employees From Betting On Certain Markets and Games

Oct 21, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; The ESPN College Gameday crew broadcasts from the field prior to the NCAA football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Penn State Nittany Lions at Ohio Stadium.Ahead of tomorrow’s ESPN BET launch, the sports media giant published sports betting guidelines for employeesThe internal memo prohibits ESPN reporters covering a team or game from betting on their marketsGuidelines are designed to protect the company’s journalistic integrity

ESPN BET is one day out from launching and the sports media giant is taking precautions to ensure its employees uphold the company’s standards of journalistic integrity.

ESPN last week sent out an internal memo of sports betting guidelines to employees detailing what they can and cannot do when ESPN BET launches on Tuesday, Nov. 14.

As per the new guidelines, any employees who covers or works with a specific sports league will be prohibited from betting on any events, markets, or awards within that league.

Maintaining ESPN’s Journalistic Integrity

The new guidelines came after several questions arose from state sports betting regulators asking how the media giant would monitor employees and ensure the fairness of games ESPN BET offered its customers.

In a recent Massachusetts Gaming Commission meeting, Chris Rogers, PENN Entertainment’s Chief Strategy Officer, said in order to protect ESPN’s journalist integrity that its on-air talent and insiders will be kept separate from anyone on the PENN trading desk.

PENN  secured the exclusive rights in August to the ESPN BET trademark for online sports betting in the U.S. for an initial 10-year term which may be extended for an additional 10 years upon mutual agreement. PENN Entertainment agreed to pay $1.5 billion to ESPN over the initial 10-year term

“There will be no connection between ESPN insiders, reporters, or the news desk with anyone who handles risk and trading for PENN,” he said.

Here are several limitations and restrictions provided in the ESPN sports betting guidelines:

No insider or team reporter can place a bet on the team they coverNo employee can place a bet on a game they’re assigned to work (including production personnel, on-site and off-side journalists)Employees who learn confidential information on a game or market can not use the information for sports betting purposesGuidelines urge employees use caution with certain types of bets, such as bets on awards like MVP or Cy Young, linked to confidential off-field informationNo story, news, or information can be withheld, reported, or delayed to impact betting linesESPN may instill other sports betting restrictions on its employees at any time

Here they are in full.

ESPN BET Launching on Nov. 14

ESPN BET will launch on Tuesday, Nov. 14, across 17 states, several months after PENN Entertainment began its rebrand from Barstool Sportsbook.

Customers will be prompted to download the new ESPN BET app on Nov. 14. No re-registration will be required and all customer information will still be saved in the app.

Pending final approval, ESPN  BET will go live in the following states on Nov. 14:

ArizonaColoradoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMarylandMassachusettsMichiganNew JerseyOhioPennsylvaniaTennesseeVirginiaWest Virginia

During a launch preview of ESPN BET last week, PENN Entertainment CEO Jay Snowden said the new sports betting app will provide “seamless integration” for ESPN BET users from ESPN content to its sportsbook. Similarly to how PENN Entertainment connects users from theScore media app to theScore Bet sportsbook app, ESPN BET users will be able to put together bet slips while reading content in their ESPN media app, Snowden said.

Nearly 73% of bets made in theScore Bet sportsbook app originated from theScore media app, Snowden said.

“What’s really different for us is this deep integration behind the number one sports media brand in the world and those sports fans who like to bet and want to bet, and the trust factor to do this seamlessly is something we take very seriously,” Snowden said.

The opportunities for crossover content is “tremendous,” Snowden said. For instance, in the future ESPN Fantasy users could receive custom-tailored player prop bet opportunities consisting of players they have on their fantasy rosters. These features will be available alongside an ESPN BET promo code for new customers to take advantage of.

“What’s really different for us is this deep integration behind the number one sports media brand in the world and those sports fans who like to bet and want to bet, and the trust factor to do this seamlessly is something we take very seriously,” Snowden said.