Disney’s Sports Betting Deal Could Be Worth An Astonishing $3 BILLION

Late last year, it was reported that Walt Disney CEO Bob Chapek was aggressively pursuing deals to bring sports betting to The Walt Disney Company. Sports betting is an ever-growing industry — becoming more popular each year — and generates billions of dollars in revenue. Bob Chapek is known as a man who is focused on making money for Disney and its shareholders any way he can, so entering into the arena of sports betting — especially with Disney’s ownership of ESPN — makes a lot of sense.

Credit: ESPN

Now, according to a report from The Wrap, Disney is nearing a deal with the sports betting company, DraftKings for online sports betting in conjunction with ESPN. Per The Wrap:

Disney, which owns ESPN, acquired a stake in DraftKings as part of its acquisition of Fox’s entertainment assets in 2019. While the sports channel has betting-related shows such as “Daily Wager,” it does not yet allow betting.

ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro recently told Bloomberg, “We know that sports fans are craving not just more sports betting content, but they’re craving the ability to actually place bets in a seamless fashion from their online digital sports experiences.”

“We have a great, long standing relationship with ESPN. However, we speak to a variety of companies on a regular basis and don’t comment on the specifics of those conversations,” a DraftKings spokesperson told TheWrap.

Credit: Draft Kings

According to experts who work for Bloomberg, if the deal goes through, it could be worth an estimated $3 billion. Those experts also believe that a partnership between the two companies “makes strategic sense”.

DraftKings shares rose as much as 8.8% on Friday, defying a broader market slump. The stock has fallen about 39% so far this year, valuing the company around $7.5 billion. Disney slipped 2.1% as of 9:49 a.m. New York time.

A tie-up between the two companies “makes strategic sense,” said Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Brian Egger and Geetha Ranganathan. “Licensing EPSN’s brand to a sports book and integrating bet odds in broadcasts could help both companies widen their audiences.”

Credit: ESPN

DraftKings is currently the main proponent behind the passing of Prop 27 in California. The proposition will be on the midterm ballot and, if approved by the voters, would legalize online sports betting in the state.

Neither Disney nor DraftKings have commented on the pending deal.