Disney is assessing its participation in the sports betting business

Bob Chapek, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, participated in the Goldman Sachs virtual conference on Tuesday 21, where he revealed a decrease in subscribers in this current quarter, as well as a drop in the number of visitors to the parks due to the delta variant of the coronavirus. Both facts had an impact on the company’s stocks, which value fell just over 4%. However, he surprisingly mentioned Disney’s interest in venturing into the sports betting business.

For a long time, Disney has avoided approaching this business, because it may collide with the company’s values regarding gambling. But such activities have increasingly been authorized by law worldwide, and more and more Disney fans, or at least those subscribed to ESPN, want to bet. ‟Our fans are interested in sports betting. It’s definitely a place we want to be,” said Chapek.

Chapek did not make emphasis on this issue, however, the possibility of turning some of the Disney-owned sports channels into live sports betting channels is on the table. It is worth remembering that after the purchase of FOX, Disney owns multiple sports channels of ESPN and FOX Sports, for which some could be transformed.