Penn Entertainment has stepped up its ESPN Bet roll out by appointing former Disney executive Aaron LaBerge as CTO.

Penn Entertainment Appoint Aaron LaBerge As CTO

LaBerge will begin his new role as CTO at Penn Entertainment on July 1st and will be in full cohesion with the company’s chief executive and president, Jay Snowden.

Once he begins this new role, LaBerge will be focusing on the improvement of technology strategy and execution at Penn Entertainment.

Taking control of a multinational team, which is made up of the world’s best technologists, LaBerge will act as a vital business leader at Penn.

Another important section of LaBerge’s role is the continued development of the ESPN Bet site across North America.

The betting operator is under the Penn umbrella, partnering with ESPN in a deal worth around $1.5 billion, which was completed in August 2023.

The agreement means that Penn Entertainment controls the everyday operations at ESPN Bet, while ESPN continues to advertise the app and online site.

ESPN Bet is already a re-branded site, after Penn Entertainment sold Barstool Sportsbook back to its original founder, Dace Portnoy in August 2023.

Aaron LaBerge spoke about the new role at Penn Interactive and how he can help ‘push the limits’ to make ESPN Bet at the top of the sports betting industry.

He said (Per, Penn Entertainment): “I’m excited to join another talented team at Penn Interactive and lead our technology strategy. Penn Entertainment is at the forefront of the fast-changing gaming and sports media industry,

“I plan to use my experience from Disney and ESPN to help make ESPN Bet an essential piece of the sports fan experience. Together, we’ll push the limits and redefine how fans interact with sports and gaming.”

The CEO at Penn, Jay Snowden, also spoke about the new addition and how LaBerge can help mold the future of ESPN Bet.

He said (Per, Penn Entertainment): “We are thrilled to have someone of Aaron’s calibre join our Penn executive team,

“Having overseen a global organisation of thousands of engineers, product developers, designers, technologists, and data scientists that created some of the largest scale and most successful media properties in the world, there is no better candidate to lead our Technology and Interactive division into its future,

“I know Aaron is looking forward to working with our entire executive team. He will continue growing our position as a leader in online gaming, sports betting and digital sports media.”