Bob Chapek Announces Thanksgiving Launch of New Sports Betting App, DraftPrinces

Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek is bringing his vision of a Disney Sports betting service to life.

In partnership with ESPN and ESPN’s Wide World of Sports, Bob Chapek announced this week the release of Disney’s new sports betting app, DraftPrinces.

Last week, Chapek teased Disney fans with an announcement, stating that Disney must “seriously consider getting into gambling in a bigger way, and ESPN is a perfect platform for this,” and that Disney is “moving towards a great presence in online sports betting, and given our reach and scale, we have the potential to partner with third-parties in this space in a very meaningful way.”

While Chapek did not elaborate on how Disney would enter the gamble-sphere at that time, it seems Disney executives were already hard at work behind the scenes to bring this new Disney experience to life.

“We’re excited to be officially announcing the release of DraftPrinces, Disney’s answer to the sports betting apps already on the market,” Chapek told press today from a podium at The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Reunion, Florida. “The app is now available on iOS and Android, or through disneybets.com and draftprinces.com, with integration coming soon to the official My Disney Experience app.”

Just in time for Thanksgiving’s big NFL and NBA match-ups, DraftPrinces will finally give Disney fans the opportunity to gamble their money on sporting events with a user interface that stays true to the Disney magic. DraftPrinces users will also be able to bet on non-sports related Disney moments, such as attraction wait times, movie ticket sales, and duration of Lake Buena Vista rain on any given day.

“While this new Disney experience is going to be great for the Disney dad recovering from a plate of turkey and fixings after Thanksgiving dinner, we also saw the importance in bringing the whole family into the betting experience, offering bets for any Disney fanatic.”

“Gambling does not have the cachet now that it had, say 10 or 20 years ago,” Chapek said, “and we have some concerns as a company about our ability to get in it without having a brand withdrawal. But I can tell you that given all the research that we’ve done recently, that that is not the case. It actually strengthens the brand of ESPN when you have a betting component, and it has no impact on the Disney brand. Therefore, to go after that demographic opportunity plus the, of course, not insignificant revenue implications, that is something that we’re keenly interested in and are pursuing aggressively.”

Looking to spend your DraftPrinces earnings on your favorite Disney merch, or in the Disney parks? Chapek also announced that Chase Bank will be partnering with Disney and ESPN on DraftPrinces, allowing users to load their winnings right onto their Disney Rewards Redemption Card the same way they load up their credit card rewards.

“We’re excited to have the opportunity to enter this new arena, and are eager to capture a younger betting audience than anyone has before. We have the utmost confidence we will turn casual gamblers into betters-for-life.”