Tempted by several leaks that teased last Tuesday's launch of ESPN BET, invigorated bettors lined up just before 3 p.m. ET in the App Store to receive their first view of the new sports betting app.
Bettors had to wait approximately 40 minutes before PENN rolled out its ESPN-branded app around 3:40 p.m., several hours before the tip of Duke-Michigan State in college basketball. In a transformative week for the U.S. sports betting market, the minor hangup did not quell enthusiasm for the highly anticipated launch.
Over a six-day period through Nov. 20, ESPN BET was downloaded 1.1 million times, according to JMP Securities, which cited data from digital intelligence firm Sensor Tower. By comparison, FanDuel previously held the record for most app downloads over a single six-day period with 468,000. The sportsbook operator hit the milestone during the week of the 2022 Super Bowl, a year in which New York bettors were able to legally wager on the game for the first time.
Despite a heavy ad spend, it took FanDuel five weeks to attain the same download levels that ESPN BET accomplished last week. For two others, DraftKings and Caesars Sportsbook, it took six weeks and 14 weeks, respectively, to reach the threshold, JMP Securities analyst Jordan Bender wrote in a research note. Since ESPN BET achieved the feat in under a week, the figures may provide a harbinger of the app's mainstream appeal.