30-second summary

• ESPN to launch Daily Wager, a sports betting program on ESPNews in mid-afternoon
• Daily Wager will provide gaming-related information and data on upcoming sports betting contests
• ESPN gambling analyst Doug Kezirian will host the show

The Walt Disney Company’s sports media outlet, ESPN, has announced a new daily program based on sports betting data. Daily Wager is a new program set to launch next week that will provide information on sports betting, including data and analysis on upcoming sporting events. The program will air on ESPN news at 3pm Eastern time. It can also be streamed via the ESPN app.

Milestone reached

ESPN is the leading source for sports programming in the United States. The launch of Daily Wager represents an attitude shift toward the once taboo subject. As more states legalize sports betting, gambling will become a more openly acceptable topic.

A sports betting boom has been seen in the US since the Supreme Court ruling in May 2018 that struck down a federal ban. So far, such states as New Jersey, Delaware, Nevada, Mississippi, and West Virginia have already legalized and launched sports betting services, seeing great success.

Because of the increase in sports betting across the nation, it is expected that more shows like the Daily Wager will be created. The changes in the law have opened up a new genre for entertainment. Other sports networks have created programming as well, such as Fox Sports 1. At Fox, a daily wagering show called Lock It In has been airing since September.

Daily Wager details

The new Daily Wager program on ESPN will be hosted by former Las Vegas sports anchor Doug Kezirian. He has worked for ESPN as a SportsCenter anchor and as a host for the network’s College GameDay, Baseball Tonight, and other programming.

On the Daily Wager, Kezirian will be joined by ESPN analysts and experts from the sports betting industry. Contributors to the program will include Anita Marks, Chris Fallica, Steve Coughlin, and many others.

Experts will make picks during the program, with analysts and reporters providing data. According to Mr. Kezirian, the program will focus on big games and news as well as fantasy sports. The content will be aimed not just at gamblers but at all sports fans.

Kezirian said: “At the expense of oversimplification, it will feel like ‘SportsCenter’ through the lens of sports betting. We’ll present info, stats, and opinion and hopefully have a lot of fun. We’re going to try to find the perfect marriage of all that to serve the sports fan, which clearly has a bigger appetite for sports betting and content.”