ESPN and Penn Entertainment are surely counting down the days when the ESPN Bet launches in 16 different states. That’s probably why they unveiled the upcoming online sportsbook’s logo. It’s definitely eye-catching, so much so that it caught the attention of BroThrow, and they’re calling foul on the entire thing.
Let’s look further and see what exactly is wrong with ESPN Bet’s logo.
What’s going on with ESPN Bet’s logo?
On the 18th of October, ESPN revealed the logo for their upcoming sportsbook for the first time. With a bright mint green color, it’s a startling departure from the usual red colorways that ESPN and other established sportsbooks use.
As for the logo itself, it’s quite a simple yet clever design: it features the outline of the uppercase letter B, and inside it is the uppercase letter E. It uses ESPN’s “Stop” font, so the upper third of the letter E is disconnected from its lower two-thirds, and it helps define the letter B encasing it. It’s bright and catchy, though not immediately attributable to either Penn Entertainment or ESPN.
What’s wrong with the logo?
At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with the logo. ESPN said the logo is supposed to be “welcoming, inclusive, unexpected, and fun.”
However, BroThrow Bets believes that ESPN Bet’s logo is a bit too inclusive. They made their feelings known when they quoted the logo reveal on X, formerly known as Twitter, claiming that “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”
As it turns out, ESPN Bet’s logo shares quite a few similarities with BroThrow’s. Both use the bright mint color, and both use the letter B as the primary shape. The main difference, however, is that BroThrow’s logo is an arrow shaped like a B, and inside it are X and O. It’s meant to emulate gameplans coaches use when showing where players should be when performing strategic plays.
Who is BroThrow Bets, and will ESPN Bet affect them?
BroThrow Bets is a self-proclaimed “Facebook Marketplace” of sports betting where users can keep track of their bets and exchange with each other. Users find a game and call a bet on the platform based on BroThrow’s odds and external research, and then other users can take and place that bet. Everything is done within the platform, with a small commission fee for every winning bet.
Although BroThrow isn’t a well-known brand yet, they’ve been ramping up their efforts in getting people to notice them. They’ve attended several relevant trade shows, and BroThrow CEO Brady Sharp believes their attendance to such shows is where ESPN Bet got the idea of emulating their logo.
Despite the similarities between the two logos, a lawsuit is unlikely. BroThrow doesn’t own a trademark for its logo, so the best it can do is harness social media to bring awareness to the situation.
It’s also unlikely that ESPN Bet will affect BroThrow’s business model, as the latter is primarily a social betting app. BroThrow may eventually connect with ESPN Bet to improve their services further.
Time will tell whether BroThrow will pursue the matter further in the courts or use this opportunity to piggyback on ESPN Bet’s momentum and bring more national awareness to their platform.
