It cannot be denied that Sports Betting has become one of the biggest avenues for gambling outside of the lottery. Sports Betting companies like Draft Kings and Fan Duel brought in over $4 Billion in profits combined in 2021 alone with a similar revenue stream predicted for 2022. Now it appears that the House of Mouse wants to get in on the action.

In Disney’s recent annual reports Disney CEO Bob Chapek spoke about the Walt Disney Company into the world of Sports Betting via ESPN. With Disney having an 80% ownership of the popular sports broadcaster you can bet they will take any opportunity to make it more profitable. 



The CEO stated that the company was “moving towards a great presence in online sports betting, and given our reach and scale, we have the potential to partner with third-parties in this space in a very meaningful way“.

Chapek also stated that one of the primary reasons they want to get into sports betting was “driven by the consumer, particularly the younger consumer that will replenish the sports fans over time and their desire to have gambling as part of their sports experience.“

He also mentioned a few business buzzwords such as taking advantage of e-sports and gaming in the metaverse. 

It should be noted that Disney also acquired a 6% stake in Draft Kings in 2019 through the 20th Century Fox acquisition. With this as well as a potential licensing deal with Caesars Entertainment the company is more invested in sports betting than ever before.

With potentially billions of dollars on the line Disney may seek to expand the features and functions their EPSN Streaming Service, ESPN Plus, to allow for the consumer to gamble directly through their account. It is currently unknown how far the company may go with this concept. 

Source: Financial Times