ESPN BET Review: Up To $1,500 In Bonus Bets – December 2024

Our Verdict

PENN Entertainment was an established sports betting brand when it partnered with ESPN in August 2023. For bettors already familiar with ESPN BET’s predecessor, Barstool Sportsbook, the app is similar in terms of look, feel and functionality.

The major difference? The app now features ESPN branding, so many promotions are linked to ESPN “personalities” such as Mike Greenberg and Elle Duncan. The app is also more high-tech and modern-looking than its predecessor.

If you were unfamiliar with Barstool Sportsbook, ESPN BET is like other sportsbooks. It has everything customers have come to expect from a big-name sportsbook, including a welcome offer, daily odds boosts, numerous banking options, fast load times and a functional mobile app.

• Website: espnbet.com
• Year established: 2023
• Available in: US
• Services: Sportsbook
• Payment options: PayPal, Online Bank Transfer, Credit/Debit Cards, Venmo, Apple Pay, VIP Preferred (ACH Bank Transfer), Skrill, Wire Transfer
• Customer service: [email protected], Live Chat, FAQ

Yes, it is backed by ESPN, one of the most prominent sports brands in the world. It is operated by PENN Entertainment, a respected and established brand in the casino industry.

After spending over $1 billion to partner with ESPN, PENN Entertainment is a legitimate company with much invested in ESPN BET. The platform is safe and reliable.

ESPN BET is legal and operates in 19 states.

ESPN BET states:

• Arizona
• Colorado
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• New Jersey
• New York
• North Carolina
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Tennessee
• Virginia
• West Virginia

• App Store Rating: 4.8 Stars, 149K ratings
• Google Play Store Rating: 4.3 Stars, 11K ratings

Another recent sportsbook, ESPN BET launched in November 2023 after rebranding from Barstool Sportsbook. Users have highlighted its clean interface, fast load times, timely payouts and quick odds updates.

That said, bet placement could be a bit faster and sometimes stalls out, so the app could still use some minor upgrades.

Most sportsbooks offer signup bonuses to attract new customers, and ESPN BET has one of the best in the industry.

If you make any wager at ESPN BET’s sportsbook after signing up, you’ll receive $100 in the form of five $20 bonus bets to use with the sportsbook. It doesn’t matter whether your bet wins or loses, and you can wager as little as $1 to claim the bonus.

ESPN BET Promo Code

ESPN BET has a special bonus for new users.

ESPN BET has a “first bet reset” offer, which is common at other sportsbooks. If your first wager loses, you’ll receive the same amount back in bonus bets up to $1,500. If your wager wins, you’ll receive your winnings in cash but won’t get any bonus bets.

Regardless of how your wager turns out, you’ll also get 30 free days of ESPN+.

No promo code is required. You must be at least 21 years old and be physically present in one of the states where ESPN BET is operational to claim this promotion.

ESPN BET offers a wide array of sports betting lines for countless games and matches across many sports worldwide.

After signing up for an account and making a real-money deposit, which will require you to verify your identity and be physically present in a regulated sports betting state where ESPN BET is operational, you can bet on any available markets.

Registering with ESPN BET typically takes a couple of minutes.

Before placing wagers at ESPN BET, you should know how to read the lines.

ESPN BET lists American odds for its betting markets. That means every line is based on a $100 bet, and your potential profit depends on the odds.

The favorite will have a minus (-) sign before the number on its odds. For example, you’d need to wager $130 on a -130 team to win $100.

Meanwhile, the underdog will have a plus (+) sign in front of its odds. If you risk $100 on a +130 underdog, you stand to win $130.

You should also know the different betting types available. ESPN BET offers numerous betting markets, including spread, moneyline, totals (Over/Under) and futures markets.

Third, you need to know the deposit and withdrawal options. After making a real-money deposit, your funds will appear in your account wallet, accessible in the top right corner of the app. This shows how much money you have available to wager. You can also view your rewards, which show any available funds from promotions and bonuses.

You can withdraw money from your account anytime using one of ESPN BET’s withdrawal methods. However, you can’t withdraw bonus bets, rewards or other forms of site credit.

There are plenty of different types of bets offered by ESPN BET, also known as markets. These bet types are available for most sports.

Spread

A spread bet is a common type of bet available at ESPN BET. It involves wagering on a team’s margin of defeat or victory.

If you bet a favorite, that team will have a “-” sign before the number. The team must win by more than that number of points, goals or runs for the bet to cash.

Conversely, if you bet an underdog, that team will have a “+” sign in front of the number. The team must either win the game outright or lose by less than that number for the bet to cash.

For example, if a team is favored by 9.5 points (-9.5 spread) in a college football team, it must win by 10 points to cover. If it’s listed as a 9.5-point underdog (+9.5 spread), it must either win the game or lose by nine points or less.

If the team wins or loses by the same number as the spread, the bet is graded as a “push” and your stake is refunded.

Moneyline

A moneyline is a simple bet on a team to win the game outright, regardless of the margin of victory.

If you bet on the favorite, you must risk more money to win less on the moneyline (ML) due to minus odds. If you back the underdog, you can bet less money to win more at plus odds.

In sports like soccer, which can end in a draw/tie, there is a three-way moneyline with the option to bet on a tie.

Totals

A total bet, often called an Over/Under, is a bet on the total number of combined points scored by both teams in a game. A bet on the Over means the combined score needs to be over the number shown for the bet to cash, while the opposite is true for the Under.

For example, say the Over/Under for an NBA game is 229.5 points. If both teams combine to score at least 230 points, the Over hits. If they score fewer than 230 points, the Under hits.

Like a spread bet, if the final combined score equals the betting total, the bet is deemed a “push” and your bet would be refunded.

Props

Prop bets are wagers on specific outcomes happening within a game. They are typically divided into game props and player props.

Game props are wagers on a particular event happening within a game. For example, you can wager on how many points a team will score in the first half of a game or if overtime will occur.

Player props are wagers on a player’s performance. For example, you can bet on a quarterback to go over or under his passing yards in a game or a basketball player to finish with a certain number of rebounds.

Parlays

A parlay is a wager that combines two or more individual wagers into one bet.

To cash your parlay, every bet in the parlay (called a “leg”) needs to win. By combining multiple wagers into one, parlays are riskier than straight bets and include higher odds to reflect that, increasing the potential payout.

A same-game parlay is a type of parlay that combines multiple bets from the same game. It is possible to combine game props with player props and full-game outcomes to boost your odds for a single game.

However, it is not possible to combine some bets in a single-game parlay. For example, you can’t have two legs be for a basketball player to score 10-plus points and 15-plus points because those bets overlap.

Live Betting

Live bets are wagers made on a game after it starts. ESPN BET updates its markets and odds for most matchups once the game is underway, so you can still bet on a contest even if you don’t submit a wager before it starts.

Futures

Futures bets are bets on outcomes occurring in the relatively distant future. The most common type of futures bet is a wager on a league championship, such as betting on a team to win the Super Bowl or Stanley Cup ahead of time.

You can also place futures wagers on individual player awards and outcomes, such as a season’s Most Valuable Player or a league leader in a statistical category like passing yards or home runs.

Having safe and secure payment methods is a main benefit of using a regulated sportsbook like ESPN BET compared to offshore sportsbooks.

Since ESPN BET is a legally licensed operator, major financial institutions allow transactions directly with its online sportsbook.

Deposits

There are several ways you can deposit money into your ESPN BET account:

• Credit/Debit Cards
• Online Banking
• PayPal
• Venmo
• Wire Transfer
• Skrill
• VIP Preferred (ACH Bank Transfer)

Withdrawals

There are also several ways you can withdraw money from your ESPN BET account:

• Online Banking
• Debit Card
• Venmo
• PayPal
• VIP Preferred (ACH Bank Transfer)
• Check
• Wire Transfer

ESPN BET has a helpful customer service team that can resolve any questions or issues with your sportsbook or casino account.

There are a few ways to get in contact with them.

To access customer support, click “My Account” in the top right corner of the app. Click on “Help” under “Account,” then click “Contact Support.”

There is a 24/7 live chat option. You must first ask your question to a bot before it connects you to a live agent.

You can also email customer service at [email protected]. It may take some time before you receive a response.

Lastly, there’s an extensive FAQ section with documents and resources to help answer common questions.

Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire via Getty Image