Bob Chapek Talks Bringing Gambling to Disney

In the newest series of developments with the Walt Disney Company, Bob Chapek is talking about finding ways to integrate betting into Disney.

The Walt Disney Company is a media giant and is one of the biggest corporations in the world. Between owning Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, or 20th Century Studios, streaming content on services like Disney+ or Hulu, and having such a significant market share of the Parks experience, they are one of the largest companies with a wide reach.

However, most recently, in all of its expansions and developments, Disney has been facing a lot of flack for making decisions that fans often feel don’t reflect their best interests, think the infamous price hikes. The man constantly scrutinized for being responsible for this? None other than Disney CEO Bob Chapek.

But now, per Mr. Chapek, the company will be making a radical move and pursue the addition of betting experiences within the Disney experience.

The Disney CEO constantly reiterates he likes to look at the company’s businesses through the eyes of the consumer, and in a recent interview with CNBC, he added that he believes that doing so, helps stay on the right track while making decisions.

Chapek continued that this is the Walt Disney Company’s approach with ESPN, considering that something sports fans want is “the ability to have a frictionless sports betting potential with not having to have four screens in front of [them]” and that “[Disney], as ESPN [has] the ability to do that.”

The CEO did clarify that they would need a partner, as “[being] a book [is] never in the cards for The Walt Disney Company.” He said that being able to partner with a well-respected third party that could handle this seamless integration for the company would inevitably be perceived to be a benefit by fans and would allow a new growth trajectory for Disney.

While the company doesn’t have an exact timetable at the moment, considering the many factors that come into play while undertaking such a project, it seemed like they were actively exploring it. Chapek mentioned the company is pleased with some of the conversations they’ve had with folks in the industry.

He added,

“We’re hard at work in our offices both on the East Coast and the West Coast, figuring out how we may get a more friction-free sports environment for our viewers.”

We at Disney Fanatic will continue to keep readers updated about this and all other Disney news as it comes to light.