First Alcohol, Now This. Disney Signs $2 Billion Deal To Capitalize on Another Vice

When Walt Disney opened Disneyland in California and Disney World in Florida, he wanted both Parks to maintain a clean image, which meant no alcohol at either Park. Based on Guest’s recent behavior, Walt may have been onto something. But selling booze in the Parks makes Disney money. So, when EPCOT opened, it sold alcohol and gave birth to Drinking Around the World. Disney also recently announced that three more restaurants would join two others in Disneyland Park that sell alcohol.

Times changes, Guests desires change, and Disney has had to adapt to those changes. But does that include gambling? The formerly-seedy vice is no longer that. Gambling has become somewhat respectable in America. New Jersey became the first state in America to legalize sports gambling, ultimately winning the right to legalized sports gambling in the Supreme Court case Murphy v NCAA (2018).

Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek floated the idea in 2022 of Disney getting into the sports gambling arena, but he was pushed out the door shortly after that and replaced by his predecessor, CEO Bob Iger. When Iger returned as CEO, he said he wasn’t necessarily opposed to the idea. But now, Disney finds itself in a financial crisis, so the Walt Disney Company has entered the gambling arena.

Related: Disney’s Profit Engine is Driving the Company Off A Cliff

ESPN, a Disney-owned company, announced that they are entering into a partnership with PENN Entertainment to create ESPN Bet. It will be a sports betting app that will be available this fall in the 16 states where PENN Entertainment is licensed. This new opportunity allows ESPN to get into the lucrative field of sports gambling and creates a new revenue source for the Disney Company. As a part of the deal, Penn writes a $1.5 billion check to Disney and another $500 million in stock options.

In a Press Release, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said:

Our primary focus is always to serve sports fans and we know they want both betting content and the ability to place bets with less friction from within our products. The strategy here is simple: to give fans what they’ve been requesting and expecting from ESPN. PENN Entertainment is the perfect partner to build an unmatched user experience for sports betting with ESPN BET.

According to Covers.Com, a sports gambling website, gambling sites in New Jersey alone brought in $82.2 million dollars this May alone. That was a 33 percent increase from the same month a year earlier. New Jersey also happens to be one of the 16 states where ESPN Bet will be operating.

California does not allow sports betting, and Florida is currently in court over its proposal to begin wagering. So, Guests will not be able to use ESPN’s new sports betting app while at the Parks.

It remains to be seen if Disney CEO Bob Iger will be able to conquer the sports betting market. But with football season just around the corner, Disney is betting this will be huge.

We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.