PENN Entertainment To Rebrand Online Casino After ESPN Deal
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PENN Entertainment’s Tuesday announcement that it’s partnering with ESPN to create ESPN BET sent shockwaves through the sports betting industry. But the news doesn’t just impact sports wagering; it also impact PENN’s iCasino offerings.
Currently, PENN owns the Barstool Sportsbook and Casino app. The new deal means PENN’s sports betting platform will eventually be rebranded to ESPN BET as the partnership with Barstool Sports concludes.
As for the online casino platform, the company’s long-term goal is to broaden its Hollywood Casino-branded app, which has been available since October 2020 only in Pennsylvania. The Barstool brand subsequently became featured by PENN in its states with online sportsbooks and/or iCasinos, including Pennsylvania, while the gaming company uses the Hollywood name on many of its brick-and-mortar properties.
“We will have, at some point, a standalone Hollywood Casino app,” PENN CEO Jay Snowden said during the company’s Q2 earnings call Wednesday. “We’re not there yet, but it’ll be integrated.”
Snowden imagines the integration between the casino app and ESPN BET looking similar to the current Barstool setup, albeit with different branding.
“If you’re in the state of Pennsylvania, for example, and you’re within ESPN BET betting on sports, you’ll be able to wager by clicking on the casino icon and go to Hollywood Casino seamlessly within the same app and platform the way you can today between Barstool Sportsbook and Barstool iCasino,” Snowden said.
Leading iCasino brand?
PENN’s iCasino platform is currently live in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The operator recently underwent a technological change that company executives believe has dramatically improved the mobile sportsbook and online casino products.
“Deploying our technology infrastructure puts our experienced in-house team, who built the platform from the ground up, in full control of the end-to-end customer journey and all product development,” Benjie Levy, head of Penn Interactive and President and COO of theScore, said in a July statement. “With this proven technology powering a significantly enhanced Barstool Sportsbook, we are primed to deliver a world class online sportsbook and casino experience to customers in the U.S.”
With technical improvements and a new media partnership, PENN wants to gain 20% online sports betting market share by 2027. By that same time, PENN hopes to capture 16% of the U.S. iCasino market.
“Online sports betting, obviously we believe we have the best brand in the world to lead with,” Snowden said. “On the online casino side, we’re of the opinion — and I think most are, by the way — that you really need multiple brands long-term.”
Snowden added that a range of branding can allow an online gambling company to better target different types of casino customers. The Hollywood branding is PENN’s current focus.
“We thought it was a good time for us to pivot to really focusing on Hollywood Casino and the Hollywood brand,” Snowden said. “The Hollywood brand for us on the brick-and-mortar side is roughly two-thirds of our properties. We’ve invested a lot of capital across the portfolio, and we’re very proud of that Hollywood brand.”
Snowden anticipates future cross-selling opportunities between a Hollywood Casino-branded mobile application and physical casinos.
