Trust Score 89/100 · Tier 1
89/100Tier 16 componentsESPN Bet is a tier-1-licensed sportsbook tracked in the SharkBetting Atlas.
Read whyESPN Bet
Is it safe to bet with? Licence, owner and complaint record, verified 2026
ESPN Bet is a tier-1-licensed sportsbook tracked in the SharkBetting Atlas.
- ACTIVE LICENCES
- 13
- PLAYER REVIEWS
- 19k
Across 13 jurisdictions
Review platforms + apps
Our independent 0-100 check, computed from public records. Not paid for, not editable by operators.
Quick scan
- LicenseTier 1 Colorado DOG
- EnforcementNo fines
- AppsAndroid only
- Markets19 countries
Author and sources
ESPN Bet at a glance
At a glance
ESPN Bet sits in the top 1% of bookmakers we track and earns a Tier-1 licensing posture. The trust score and tier shown in the header above are broken down by 6 weighted components in the score panel below.
What's behind the 89/100
6 weighted checks, total 100. Each bar shows the score, weight, and what it means.
What this score means: Active licences in tier-1 jurisdictions provide strong consumer protection and dispute-resolution channels.
Evidence: Tier-1: Colorado DOG
What this score means: Ownership traces to a publicly-known parent group with documented filings.
Evidence: SEC-filed public parent: penn-entertainment
What this score means: Atlas could not verify security signals for this brand.
Evidence: No security grades available
What this score means: Public review platforms show consistently positive sentiment over time.
Evidence: Google Play: 4.43star (19231 reviews)
What this score means: No fraud-intel hits, no AML enforcement actions, no KEV CVEs on infrastructure.
Evidence: No threat-intel hits
What this score means: Domain age, hosting tier, and CDN posture indicate a stable long-running operation.
Evidence: Domain age: 7y
ESPN Bet overview
ESPN Bet is a tier-1-licensed sportsbook tracked in the SharkBetting Atlas. Ultimate ownership traces back to Penn Entertainment, a publicly traded company, so a regulated parent is accountable behind the brand. It holds 13 active licences, including ones from CO-DOG, NY-NYGC, and IL-IGB. It accepts players from 19 countries. Public hosting infrastructure is classified as tier-1 hosting (Amazon.com, Inc.).
Its SharkBetting Trust Score v2 sits at 89 out of 100 (high confidence, strong band). By our methodology that places it among the better-documented operators we track.
What the ESPN and Penn Entertainment partnership means for ESPN Bet players
ESPN Bet is operated by Penn Entertainment, the NASDAQ-listed gaming company, under a multi-year branding agreement announced in 2023 that put the ESPN name on Penn's US sportsbook. The distinction that matters for a player is that ESPN is the media brand on the front of the product, while Penn Entertainment is the licensed operator that actually holds your account, processes your money, and answers to the gaming regulators.
For a player the practical upside is that the entity behind the brand is a public, regulated US gaming company with audited financials and a named corporate parent, rather than an anonymous offshore licensee. The limit worth being honest about is that a well-known media name on the product does not change how a dispute is resolved: a withheld payout or closed account is handled through the relevant state regulator's process, the same as it would be for any other Penn-operated brand.
ESPN Bet's state-by-state licensing and what changes at the state line
ESPN Bet holds separate sports-betting licences in each US state it operates in, including Colorado, New York and Illinois among the thirteen active licences the Atlas records. Each state is effectively its own legal product: the market list, bonus terms, withdrawal handling and the body that hears a complaint all change at the state line, and geolocation at the point of bet placement is the binding gate on which set of rules applies to you.
For a player physically located in a licensed state, that state licence is the part that actually protects you, a regulator with the statutory power to investigate the operator and a published complaints route. The thing to check before depositing is simply that you are inside a state ESPN Bet is licensed to serve, because accessing the brand from a state where it is not licensed puts you outside that recourse entirely.
Weight the Trust Score yourself
Drag the sliders to match your own priorities. ESPN Bet’s score recomputes live with the published weighting rules (missing data counts as a conservative prior at half weight). See the full methodology for red-flag and coverage caps.
Your weighted score
89
Atlas default
89
Delta
+0.2
Licensing & regulatory footprint
Country access
Hover or tap a region for the country list.
Europe0 accepted, 0 blocked
Americas1 accepted, 0 blocked
Asia0 accepted, 0 blocked
Africa0 accepted, 0 blocked
Oceania0 accepted, 0 blocked
Activity timeline
Atlas tracked 4 timeline sources for this brand: licence registers, UKGC enforcement sitemap, certificate transparency, atlas verification. 1 returned signal so far. Atlas first observed this brand on 2026-04-19.Latest event: Atlas last verified on 2026-04-19.
Public reviews
What to expect
Identity checks
Standard: ID on first withdrawal
A general expectation for this brand type, not an individually verified KYC audit. Check the operator’s own terms before depositing.
Mobile apps
How we know: Apple App Store + Google Play Store metadata, atlas brand catalogue. Last checked 2026-04-19.
Not convinced by ESPN Bet?
These brands currently outscore ESPN Bet in the Atlas ranking. Same scoring code, no placement fees; check that each holds a licence in your country before switching.
Frequently asked questions
Is ESPN Bet safe?
ESPN Bet has a Trust Score of 89/100 with high data confidence. It rates well on independent signals: licensing 94/100, reviews 89/100, corporate 95/100, security 50/100. No active red flags are recorded against the brand.
Who owns ESPN Bet?
ESPN Bet is part of the SEC-listed group penn-entertainment (ticker PENN), which discloses audited financials and ownership in public filings. Verified ownership matters because the parent company holds the regulatory licence, custody of player funds, and final responsibility for dispute resolution; corporate transparency is one of six components in the Trust Score v2 rubric.
Does ESPN Bet have a mobile app?
ESPN Bet ships a native Android app verified against the Google Play listing. On Google Play (package com.espn.bet), the app rates 4.43/5 across 19,231 user reviews. Store ratings reflect user satisfaction with the app itself, not the underlying betting product, and can drift after major updates.
Where is ESPN Bet available?
ESPN Bet accepts players from 19 jurisdictions per atlas data, including USA, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and 13 more. Availability lists are derived from public terms-of-service pages and licence registers; geofencing rules can be tighter than what is publicly stated, and accounts opened from restricted IPs are usually voided. Always verify your specific country on the official site before depositing.
Compare ESPN Bet to alternatives
Pick up to two other atlas brands and see the verifiable stats side-by-side.
| Metric | This brand ESPN Bet | Alternative 1 Not selected | Alternative 2 Not selected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 89/100 | ||
| Tier | Tier 1 | ||
| Active licences | 13 | ||
| Player reviews | 19k | ||
| Top regulator | Colorado DOG | ||
| Regulator actions | None on file |
Brands listed by Trust Score. Comparison uses the same data Atlas publishes on each brand’s own page.
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Author and sources
Sources (1)
Citations backing every factual claim in this ESPN Bet profile, grouped by category. Atlas verifies each source on the date shown. External links open in a new tab.
Operator pages (1)
- [1]Domain registration record for espnbet.com (RDAP (registry data))
Trust score computed from 6 weighted components (licensing, corporate, security, reviews, threat intel, operational). License data verified against public authority records. Last verified 53 days ago. Sources cited: 1.
Last updated: 19 Apr 2026
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