ESPN BET to Launch in New York After Buying WynnBet

PENN Entertainment has bought WynnBet sports betting license in the United States and will takeover with its ESPN BET property in New York.

WynnBet had steadily closed its operations in most states that it once covered, including Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

It announced that it was leaving the Massachusetts market earlier this year, while the exits in other states took place in late 2023.

ESPN BET, meanwhile, launched in October, replacing Barstool Sportsbook across the country.

While WynnBet still operates in New York, Arizona and Michigan, NY is the key to this deal. PENN already has licenses in Arizona and Michigan. And while New York has lofty tax laws that garner 51% of gross gaming revenues, it's still the state with the most money flowing around the betting markets — by far.

WynnBet, effectively, would pull out of the American market just a few months after starting. Its physical properties in Massachusetts and Las Vegas will continue hosting sports betting. It's a natural end for a player that never cracked the top six in market share in any state that it operated in.

For ESPN BET, it's the 18th state that it will have jurisdiction in. New York's licenses are finite and include FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars, BetMGM, PointsBet (owned by Fanatics), Resorts World, BallyBet and WynnBet.