Who can wager at ESPN BET

In order to place an online wager with ESPN BET, you must be physically present in the aforementioned 19 states where the sportsbook is available. It is not, however, necessary to be a resident of one of these jurisdictions.

How to fund your ESPN BET account

Once you sign up for your ESPN BET account, you'll need to deposit funds in order to start wagering. This can be done via debit or credit card, bank or wire transfer, PayPal, Skrill, Venmo, Apple Pay, e-check, or cash at a PENN-operated casino -- often the Hollywood brand. Money may be withdrawn from an account using all of the methods mentioned above, as well as through a paper check.

Featured signup bonus: First-bet reset up to $1,500 plus 30 days of ESPN+

To claim this classic first-bet insurance offer, you must open an account at ESPN BET and deposit at least $10. Next, if your first bet loses, you'll receive bonus bets equal to the amount of that wager up to $1,500. 

The catch is that these bonus bets expire after seven days and require a 20x playthrough, which means you'll have to get busy to take full advantage of the offer. This also serves as a reminder to always review the terms and conditions of any bonus offers and of all sportsbooks in general, as each has certain peccadilloes that are worth keeping tabs on.

An added perk to ESPN BET’s welcome bonus is 30 free days of ESPN+ for all new account holders.

Customer Service at ESPN BET

Any questions or issues concerning sports wagering can be most efficiently addressed via the live chat function on the ESPN BET app or website, which can be located through the "Contact Us" section.

Customer support is also available via email (support@espnbet.com) and X/Twitter (@ESPNBETSupport), and bettors who would like to speak to an ESPN BET representative by phone can request a call back within 24 hours by ringing (844) 953-2121.

Finally, ESPN BET has dubbed its help center the Zen Desk (espnbet.zendesk.com) for bettors who are content to surf around for answers to commonly asked questions and state regulations.

Sports to bet on at ESPN BET

Seeing as ESPN bills itself as the Worldwide Leader in Sports, it makes perfect sense that ESPN BET has an expansive menu of sports on which to bet. Depending on the state, this includes Australian Rules Football, auto racing, baseball, basketball, boxing, cricket, cycling, darts, esports, American football, golf, handball, hockey, lacrosse, MMA, rugby, soccer, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, and various winter sports.

ESPN BET also offers betting on cultural events like the Oscars, Grammys, and Golden Globes in states that allow such wagering.

Some states prohibit wagering on events involving in-state schools, while several do not allow prop bets on individual collegiate players. These regulations are typically implemented to guard against the harassment of young athletes and to protect the integrity of the competitions.

Bet types

ESPN BET's online help desk features an exhaustive sports betting guide that not only explains different bet types, but also schools novice bettors on wagering basics and how best to bet on different sports. For more seasoned bettors or those looking to graduate to another next level of sophistication, there's also an advanced wagering guide that discusses things like betting calculators, cash out, and betting margins (also known as expected value).

A moneyline bet is the most straightforward type of sports wager. Here, a bettor simply backs whichever team or player they think will win a given game or match. Odds of -130 would indicate that the team or player is favored, and $130 must be wagered to earn a profit of $100. Conversely, odds of +130 would signal underdog status, and a $100 wager would net a profit of $130. In both instances, the total payout would be $230 (initial wager plus profit).

Spread betting takes into account the expected margin of defeat when making a wager. If you back the underdog Knicks to beat a 3.5-point spread (+3.5) against the Celtics, your bet will cash if the Knicks either win the game or lose by three points or less. If you back the favored Celtics to cover at -3.5, they'll need to win by four or more.

If you feel as though a game between two high-flying teams is going to result in a shootout, you might want to bet the over in that game. If, say, the Lions are hosting the Bills and ESPN BET sets the over/under (or total) at 54.5 points, betting the over would mean you'd expect the two teams to combine for 55 points or more, while betting the under means you think they'll combine for 55 or fewer points.

Futures bets are to sports wagering as long-term investments are to the stock market -- although those two markets should only be equated in the purely hypothetical sense. Think the Padres will win their first World Series before the season even starts? Then bet them to prevail in that futures market and slowly sweat out your wager for the next several months. Similar bets can be made on players to hit certain statistical milestones over the course of a season or earn individual honors, like Most Improved Player or MVP.

Long a popular form of wagering across the Atlantic, live betting has picked up steam in the U.S. in recent years. Live bets are wagers placed after a game or match has started, with odds in various markets constantly fluctuating based on the changing likelihood of various results. Microbets are a popular subset of live betting in which bettors can wager on the result of, say, the next drive in a football game or the next at-bat in a baseball game.

Sportsbooks have long saved their most creative prop bets for major events like the Super Bowl, but props have become a staple of everyday sports betting as mobile wagering has expanded in the United States. These involve focusing on a specific statistical category or situation involving a player or team that's not directly related to a contest's final outcome. Examples include betting on which player will score the first touchdown in a football game or whether Aaron Judge will get two or more hits against the Red Sox.

In simplest terms, parlays are bets that combine two or more wagers into one. Parlays are a higher-risk, higher-reward proposition than straight bets. In order for a parlay bet to cash, all of the involved wagers -- or legs -- must be successful. While same-game parlays -- parlays where all of the legs are confined to a single game -- have captured the imagination of American sports bettors, parlay bets can be spread across multiple games, sports, and dates.

Account linking and other special betting features

Since ESPN BET went live in November of 2023, the flagship cable network has steadily ramped up its sports betting integrations, from clever commercials featuring popular on-air personalities to odds and wagering data featured on a ticker alongside other sports statistics.

The same synergies have been applied to ESPN's digital properties, with users now able to link their main ESPN app account to that of their ESPN BET account. This gives users the ability to track their bets on both the ESPN app and at ESPN.com, as well as receive more personalized bet suggestions and promotions based on their favorite teams, players, and fantasy sports rosters.

PENN launched the ESPN BET app with a level of functionality roughly on par with its Barstool partnership, but the operator has steadily added features and tweaks to improve user experience and the online sportsbook's pool of offerings. Among these innovations have been ESPN BET's parlay lounge, a sort of one-stop shop for parlay bettors; expanded same-game parlay breadth; improved profit-boost offers; early win payouts; and a refer-a-friend program that allows customers to get up to 20 new players to sign up for accounts and earn a maximum of $2,500 in sportsbook rewards per year.

For states where online casinos are legal, PENN's Hollywood Casino app can be accessed through the same login credentials as a customer's ESPN BET account.

Brick-and-mortar ESPN BET Sportsbooks

ESPN got its feet wet in the sit-down sports-watching experience with its now-defunct ESPN Zone locations, while PENN has operated retail casinos -- the Hollywood brand foremost among them -- around the country for decades. 

With the union of these two corporate entities, several PENN sportsbooks have been rebranded as ESPN BET sportsbooks, starting with the retail sportsbook at the Hollywood Casino at Greektown in Detroit, Michigan. Since then, the sportsbooks at the following PENN properties have been rechristened under the ESPN BET Sportsbook brand: Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway; L'Auberge Casino Hotel in Baton Rouge; the L'Auberge Casino Resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana; Plainridge Park Casino in Massachusetts; Hollywood Casino in Columbus, Ohio; Hollywood Casino in Toledo, Ohio; Hollywood Casino in Perryville, Maryland; and the Margaritaville Resort Casino in Bossier City, Louisiana.

Responsible gambling at ESPN BET

ESPN BET wants its customers to have fun and bet safely. To this end, it lists the Council on Compulsive Gambling's tips for responsible play. Among these recommendations are to avoid gambling when you're lonely, depressed, tired, angry, or drunk.

Chasing losses and betting with money you can't afford to lose are also problematic behaviors. Among the responsible gambling tools ESPN BET allows its account holders to opt into are pre-set time, deposit, wager amount, and loss limits.

Responsible gambling also involves knowing when it's time to take a break, so if setting limits doesn't cut it, ESPN BET customers have the ability to take advantage of a tool called self-exclusion, which prevents them from wagering on the app for a set period of time. As a less prohibitive measure, users can simply opt out of receiving marketing messages concerning ESPN BET.

Furthermore, if you ever feel like your gambling has gotten completely out of control, call 1-800-GAMBLER or a state hotline to receive immediate help or learn about your options for assistance.

ESPN BET offers comprehensive responsible gambling tools and resources, including limits on access time, deposits, and wagering amounts. Must be 21+ to wager. Terms and conditions apply to all offers. Please see ESPN BET for details. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.