| ESPN Bet Live | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Daily Wager |
| Genre | Sports talk Panel show |
| Presented by | Doug Kezirian |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Production location | Bristol, Connecticut |
| Running time | 60 minutes (with commercials) |
| Original release | |
| Network | ESPN2 |
| Release | March 11, 2019 (2019-03-11) – present |
ESPN Bet Live (formerly Daily Wager) is an American sports betting discussion program, broadcast by ESPN2 on Thursday, Friday, and Monday evenings, and Saturday and Sunday mornings. Hosted by Doug Kezirian, it features sports news and analysis presented from the perspective of sports betting.
Since November 10, 2023, the program has been co-branded with Penn Entertainment's sportsbook ESPN Bet.
History
Daily Wager premiered on ESPNews on March 11, 2019; its premiere came amid the widening legalization of sports betting in the United States after the 2018 repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 by Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association. It would be hosted by ESPN sports betting analyst Doug Kezirian, with "Stanford" Steve Coughlin (who hosts the "Bad Beats" segment on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt), Joe Fortenbaugh, Tyler Fulghum, and Anita Marks among others as regular contributors.
In May 2019, ESPN announced a partnership with Caesars Entertainment, under which Caesars Sportsbook would serve as the data provider for its sports betting content, and ESPN would construct a 6,000 sq ft (560 m) Las Vegas studio at The Linq casino hotel for Daily Wager and other sports betting-oriented content. In August 2019, it was announced that Daily Wager would move to ESPN2 beginning August 20, 2019, and add a new Sunday morning edition ahead of NFL season. At this time, betting lines from Caesars Sportsbook began to be displayed on an "L-bar" during Daily Wager, and on ESPNews during non-event programming.
In September 2020, Daily Wager began broadcasting from The Linq. On April 14, 2021, Daily Wager presented a special alternate feed of an NBA game between the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers on ESPN2, which featured discussion and on-screen graphics highlighting odds, props, and futures relating to the game and the league. It was hosted by Kezirian, Fortenbaugh, and Fulghum from The Linq, joined by NBA on ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins.
In August 2023, ESPN announced a licensing agreement with Penn Entertainment to relaunch its Barstool Sports-branded sports betting services as ESPN Bet. As this would end ESPN's agreement with Caesars, it was announced that the Las Vegas studio would close, and that Daily Wager would move back to ESPN's headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut beginning September 7. It was also announced that the program would add a Saturday morning edition, and adopt a new Thursday–Monday schedule. On November 10, ahead of the service's launch on November 14, Daily Wager was rebranded as ESPN Bet Live. For the 2024 NFL draft in Detroit, the show broadcast on-location from the newly-opened ESPN Bet sportsbook at Hollywood Casino at Greektown on April 25 and 26.
References
- ^ "ESPN'S Daily Wager Returning to ESPN Headquarters in Bristol". Sports Video Group. 2023-08-31. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
- Hayes, Dade (2019-03-01). "ESPN Lays Odds On Sports Betting With New One-Hour Show 'Daily Wager'". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
- Battaglio, Stephen (March 11, 2019). "ESPN launches 'Daily Wager' as sports betting goes showtime". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-03-12.
- Rosenthal, Phil (2019-05-14). "ESPN partners with Caesars on sports-betting deal and plans to open Las Vegas casino studio". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
- ^ Bucholtz, Andrew (2019-08-15). "Daily Wager is shifting to ESPN2 and adding a Sunday show". Awful Announcing. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
- Dewey, Todd (24 August 2020). "New ESPN studio in Las Vegas to debut Monday". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- Seeman, Matthew (9 September 2020). "Caesars, ESPN cut ribbon for new betting-focused studio on Las Vegas Strip". KSNV. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- Dachman, Jason (2021-04-21). "Inside the ESPN's NBA Daily Wager Special: How ESPN Produced Its First Sports-Betting–Driven Broadcast". Sports Video Group. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
- McCarthy, Michael (2023-11-10). "ESPN BET Will Attempt To Prevent The Influence Of Insiders". Front Office Sports. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
- Selasky, Susan. "First ESPN BET sportsbook retail location opens inside Hollywood Casino at Greektown". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
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