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The first retail sportsbook bearing the ESPN Bet name opened Wednesday at Penn Entertainment’s Hollywood Casino at Greektown in downtown Detroit. Hollywood Casino at Greektown in Detroit. The first ESPN Bet sportsbook opened there on April 24. (Image: Penn Entertainment) Penn has been using the ESPN brand on its mobile sports wagering platform since last November after inking a 10-year, $1.5 billion deal with Walt Disney last August. Michigan is one of the 18 states in which ESPN Bet is available. The ESPN BET sportsbook and restaurant offers guests approximately 4,500 square-feet of betting and dining space, with high-tech wagering kiosks, big-screen TVs, a 30’ video wall for the ultimate …

After a more than two-decade run holding high-level technology jobs at Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS), Aaron LaBerge is joining Penn Entertainment (NASDAQ: PENN) as chief technology officer (CTO). The ESPN Bet logo. Operator Penn Entertainment hired former Disney executive Aaron LaBerge as chief technology officer (CTO). (Image: ESPN Bet) The regional casino operator made the announcement earlier today, though some media outlets reported LaBerge left Disney for unspecified personal reasons. In his role as Penn CTO, LaBerge will report directly to CEO and President Jay Snowden. In his new role, Mr. LaBerge will be responsible for driving the technology strategy and execution for PENN, while leading the multinational team of …

The ESPN Bet mobile sports wagering application, which went live last November, is likely to post a larger-than-expected first-quarter loss, thus acting as an overhang on shares of parent Penn Entertainment (NASDAQ: PENN). The exterior of Hollywood Casino Columbus in Ohio. An analyst says ESPN Bet is weighing on Penn Entertainment stock. (Image: USA Today) That’s the take of Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli who in a Monday report to clients, trimmed his price target on the stock to $19 from $22 while maintaining a “neutral” rating. The price forecast implies upside of 14.8% from Tuesday’s close and is well below the Wall Street consensus price outlook of $26.51. While …

Flutter Entertainment (NYSE: FLUT), the parent company of FanDuel, said Tueaday it’s selling $1.05 in senior secured notes maturing in 2029. The Flutter logo as seen in an investor deck. The company announced a $1.05 billion debt sale on Tuesday. (Image: Flutter Entertainment) The proceeds of the debt sale, which includes dollar- and euro-denominated bonds, will be used to repay borrowings under a credit facility attained in July 2018, and “to repay borrowings under the existing multi-currency revolving credit facility,” according to the Dublin-based gaming company. The announcement marks Flutter’s first debt sale since the company listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in January — a …

Legislation introduced in Delaware seeks to expand the First State’s online sports betting market from a sole operator. Delaware lawmakers have proposed welcoming in additional online sportsbook companies. Currently, Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming’s iGaming platform BetRivers maintains a monopoly on both online casino gaming and online sports betting in the First State. (Image: Bally’s Dover Casino Resort) Online sports betting in Delaware began only last December despite the state being among the first to allow players to bet on college and pro sports at retail facilities. The state expanded sports gambling to the internet after bringing in a new iGaming and sportsbook partner — Rush Street Gaming’s BetRivers — last …

Daniel Rodimer, the former WWE wrestler and Republican Congressional candidate charged with murder in Las Vegas last month made his first appearance in court Wednesday. Daniel Rodimer appears in a Las Vegas courtroom Wednesday. He is accused of attacking Christopher Tapp at Resorts World after the latter allegedly took cocaine with his stepdaughter. Tapp later died of his injuries. (Image: LVRJ) Rodimer, 45, who wrestled under the name Dan Rodman, is accused of attacking Christopher Tapp, 47, at a party at Resorts World Las Vegas in October. Tapp was found suffering from serious head injuries in the vicinity of Resorts World on October 19 and died a week later. The …

Sports bettors who win more than they should in the eyes of oddsmakers are often limited or even banned from continuing to wager. It’s a practice that most legal sports betting states permit, but gaming regulators in Massachusetts are weighing whether to change such practices. Circa Sports displays its maximum bets in Las Vegas. The issue of limiting individual sports bettors was raised this week in Massachusetts, with state gaming regulators wanting more information from sportsbooks on how they decide to limit a bettor’s action. (Image: Circa Sports) During the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s (MGC) Thursday meeting, the topic of operators limiting bettors was discussed toward the end of the more …

Rece Davis, a lead sports anchor on ESPN and ABC, is backtracking sports betting comments he made on Sunday ahead of top-seeded UConn’s second-round March Madness matchup against No. 9 Northwestern. ESPN’s Rece Davis is walking back comments he made in jest about sports betting being risk-free when an expert like Erin Dolan dishes her picks. Davis says there is, of course, inherent risk in gambling on sports. (Image: AP) As the line between sports betting and sports analysis continues to blur, Davis welcomed ESPN Bet sports betting analyst Erin Dolan to College GameDay  before Sunday’s slate of games tipped off. Dolan dished her opinions on how to bet the …

Missouri sports fans wanting to place legal bets on their NCAA brackets remain sidelined as March Madness heats up. That’s despite a new poll that finds support for sports betting getting warmer in the Show Me State. Missouri residents hoping to place legal sports bets on March Madness from within the Show Me State will have to wait until next year as sports betting legislation remains stuck in legislative limbo. (Image: Casino.org) Saint Louis University and YouGov released a poll last week showing 60% of Missouri voters support legalizing sports gambling to fund public education. A spokesperson for Winning for Missouri Education said a ballot petition to place the matter …

BetMGM and Marriott Bonvoy, the hotelier’s customer loyalty platform, are teaming up on a program that allows the gaming company’s clients to earn travel rewards. The BetMGM logo. The gaming company announced a partnership with Marriott Bonvoy, a popular travel loyalty program. (Image: NY Sports Day) Bettors in the states in which BetMGM is operational can link their accounts with the online sportsbook operator and Marriott Bonvoy. Points can be accrued via sports wagering or with iGaming in the states where that’s applicable. They can then exchange BetMGM Rewards points for Marriott Bonvoy points, up to 100,000 points annually, which they can then use to redeem extraordinary experiences, including future …