DraftKings and FanDuel could be in trouble with massive ESPN BET launch

Ready or not, ESPN BET is out to play.

The industry’s newest sportsbook jumped the app chart leaderboards over the past week, and JMP Securities tracked 1.1 million new downloads.

ESPN BET was able to hold the top spot on the app chart for several days upon launch, holding steady at No. 16 on the chart at the time of writing.

But is it time for the giants to start sweating?

FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings claim 73 percent of the sports betting market, but even ESPN BET’s biggest skeptics have to be impressed with the numbers they have received in the initial launch.

Critics will say that these are just redownloads of former Barstool Sportsbook users. This is unlikely.

At the end of their run, many estimates had Barstool’s market share around three percent of the overall market, a bitter disappointment for parent company Penn National.

Up to this point, the remaining 27 percent of the market was split between BetMGM, BetRivers, and Caesars. Two potential market disruptors are looking to carve out their own slice: ESPN BET and Fanatics.

ESPN BET, who signed a 10-year deal, $150 million with Penn National Gaming, is said to need to obtain a 20 percent market share by 2027 in order to hit its necessary benchmarks.

If the company is to hit this mark, it will need some help.

New York recently reached $2 billion in sports betting handle (all money bet, regardless of win/loss) in October, the first state to do so in a single month.

It is unknown whether ESPN BET is looking to obtain a New York license but there could be a few up for grabs if they are able to find a selling partner.

Resorts Casino, Bally Bet, and Wynn Bet are all apparent candidates to give up on sports betting in the Empire State due in large part to an extreme tax rate.

Should ESPN BET dip its toes into New York, the lofty goal of 20 percent market share could become that much more obtainable. Not to mention the sleeping giants in Texas and California.

The three states’ population makes up 88.7 million people or 26.7 percent of the country’s population.

Should that come to fruition by 2027, the 20 percent goal doesn’t seem so unobtainable anymore.

The American Gaming Association also reported that Americans bet $23 billion on sports during the third quarter (July – September). This number is up 32.7% higher than a year ago, and the sports betting market is now on pace to exceed an unprecedented $100 billion in total handle for the year.

That will likely continue to uptick as time passes.