Disney’s ESPN Close to Sports Betting Partnership Deal with DraftKings

Disney-owned ESPN is reported to be close to agreeing a new partnership deal with sports betting giant DraftKings.

According to a report in Bloomberg, the partnership will allow ESPN to enter the ever-expanding US legal sports betting market. However, while the reports cites sources who are close to the deal, no further details of the agreement have been revealed.

Following the report DraftKings shares jumped by as much as 14% in extended trading in New York bringing the company’s value close to $7.2 billion (€7.34 billion). Until yesterday, the company had seen a drop of 42% in share values. Despite the news and DraftKings’ surge, Disney shares remained stable.

In a recent interview, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro told Bloomberg:

It’s believed that Disney has softened its stance on sports betting and has been searching for a partner for ESPN for the past year.

Speaking at Disney’s D23 fan event in Anaheim, California, earlier this summer, Disney CEO Bob Chapek spoke of the company’s desire to take advantage of public interest in sports betting:

Chapek also answered a question on the development of an ESPN sports-betting app, saying:

“We’re working very hard on that.”

DraftKings and ESPN have yet to comment on the rumors.

Jenny Tang

An experienced iGaming commentator and analyst based in New York City - Jenny reports on regulation and gambling industry news and events.