Bob Iger says the Walt Disney Company will be part of the sports betting landscape. Just how, what or when are unknowns.
Those were some of the CEO’s comments from an interview with Time magazine. Amid discussions about the company’s feud with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and a possible acquisition of Hulu, the chat touched on gaming.
Disney has no intention to invest directly with gambling firms, Iger said. Whatever the involvement it will be a way for ESPN to enhance customer relationships, according to reports in Casino.org.
“ESPN is interested in figuring out a way to enable its consumers, who are watching sports on television or mobile devices or whatever, to participate in some form of sports betting without having to leave the experience completely,” Iger told Time.
Those comments differed a bit from those he said a month ago at the
Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference: “I think it’s inevitable that there’ll be basically a seamlessness between sports programming and sports betting,” he said then.
Back with Time, Iger acknowledges that sports betting has grown significantly, It’s a question of appealing to ESPN consumers without sacrificing the Disney values.
“We’re not actually causing the bets to be made,” Iger asserted.
In other words, Iger is OK with ESPN having a link to regulated sportsbooks.
ESPN, thus Disney, has an existing financial investment in DraftKings to the tune of 6 percent. Disney did not go after a portion of the sportsbook operator, but it was part of the $71.3 billion takeover of 21st Century Fox.
According to Iger, Disney has no existing plans for its interest in the operator. That leads to speculation on several levels.
