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Gambling company Penn Entertainment has been struggling with parlays on ESPN Bet.
By the numbers: Penn todayreported a little more than 30% of bets placed on the platform in December and January were of the combo-bet variety.
Market leaders DraftKings and FanDuel are at 50% or higher depending on the month, illustrating how much ESPN Bet continues to trail the industry standard.
Why it matters: Parlays — combination bets that pay out only when multiple wagers win — are the most profitable type of bet for sportsbooks.
Zoom out: Disney signed a sportsbook branding deal with Penn Entertainment in 2023 to rebrand the Barstool Sportsbook as ESPN Bet.
When it launched that November, ESPN Bet set a goal of 20% U.S. market share by 2027, SBC Americas reported. But executives suggested today that they expect to surpass only 5% by the fourth quarter.
What they're saying: "It's not as much progress as we wanted to make or we plan to make as we move forward," Penn CEO Jay Snowden said today on the company's earnings call.
Penn CTO Aaron LaBerge said they're making product improvements — including expanding their same-game parlay offerings. "We're getting better in parlays," he said.
