In many ways, the four-letter network dictates what fans watch, what they talk about and, now, what they bet on.ĮSPN broadcasts sporting events, it reports on sporting events and now the company is going to have its own betting app (via Penn Entertainment) to set the lines on sporting events.
I’ve often said ESPN is the major sports influencer and opinion-maker in this country. Let’s start with the hypocrisy of Disney, which has been using its massive political and financial clout for years to keep the palatial casino gambling hotels out of our state in order to protect the Mouse’s own multi-billion-dollar theme park and hotel business in Central Florida.ĭisney always argued that casino gambling in Florida would taint our state’s family-friendly reputation, and now Disney itself is going into the gambling business with a casino company to bring sports betting to every possible iPhone across the country.ĭisney subsidiary ESPN getting involved in the gambling business is even more eyebrow-raising.