ESPN has announced a wide-ranging deal with Caesars Entertainment that includes the addition of a new ESPN-branded studio at the LINQ Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, where sports-betting-themed content will be created, along with segments for Daily Wager, ESPN's recently launched sports-betting-related show.
The studio (launching in 2020) will serve as a Vegas home for odds-related content across ESPN platforms. Caesars will also serve as ESPN's official odds data supplier across TV and digital, receiving associated attribution across ESPN platforms.
ESPN's expansion in the sports betting space dovetails with a run of expanded legalization for sports betting cross the country. So far this year, Iowa, Indiana, Montana, Tennessee and Washington, D.C., have legalized sports betting, after seven states legalized it in 2018 following a U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing it nationwide last year.
Nevada had previously been the only U.S. state to offer legal sports betting on individual games. New Jersey has quickly become the second-largest legal sports betting market in the U.S., with over 80 percent of its bets coming from mobile users.
"Having a great partner in Caesars Entertainment and soon a full studio presence in Las Vegas will help us create content that taps into that culture and grows our offerings to avid bettors and more casual fans," said Connor Schell, ESPN's executive vice president of content.
According to the American Gaming Association, nearly $8 billion has been legally wagered on sports nationwide over the past year, $3 billion of which was wagered outside of Nevada.
The deal was announced on the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 and allow states the option to legalize sports betting.