PENN Entertainment announced Monday it has named Disney’s Aaron LaBerge as its Chief Technology Officer.

LaBerge’s first day at PENN Entertainment will be July 1, subject to regulatory approvals, and he will report directly to PENN CEO & President Jay Snowden. LaBerge had been at The Walt Disney Company for more than 20 years spanning two stints, separated by a 5 1/2-year period as a technology entrepreneur.

In his latest stint at Disney, he was President and CTO for Disney Entertainment and ESPN. LaBerge was responsible for technology and product development for the company’s two media divisions. His arrival at PENN Entertainment comes at a time when the gaming company is trying to carve out space for ESPN BET as one of the top sports betting apps in the space behind FanDuel and DraftKings.

“We are thrilled to have someone of Aaron’s caliber join our PENN executive team,” Snowden said in a statement released by PENN Entertainment. “Having overseen a global organization 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 Todd George, our head of operations, and our entire Executive Team to continue growing our position as a leader in online gaming, sports betting, and digital sports media.”

Before adding Disney Enterprises to his responsibilities, LaBerge served as Executive Vice President and CTO at ESPN from 2015-18. He was one of the primary architects in helping ESPN grow its consumer-facing digital media products and develop infrastructure technology for ESPN’s facilities at its headquarters in Bristol, Conn., and Los Angeles, Charlotte, and Austin.

“I’m excited to join another talented team at PENN Interactive and lead our technology strategy,” LaBerge said. “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.”

PENN Entertainment rolled out ESPN BET nationally in mid-November, but LaBerge’s arrival comes before it enters the biggest and most important marketplace in the United States — New York. PENN Entertainment agreed to acquire WynnBET’s mobile licenses in the Empire State for $25 million in February and hopes to complete the regulatory process to begin taking bets in New York before the end of 2024.

While ESPN BET started fast thanks to an aggressive spend of promotional credits and bonuses upon launch, its performance has ebbed and flowed throughout the country in terms of market share for mobile sports wagering while pulling back on such outlay. Snowden publicly stated the goal for ESPN BET was to attain a 7% market share by the end of its first year, something it is on track to do in some states while finding challenges in others.

In the seven states where operator handle is available from January through March, ESPN BET is exceeding 7% market share in Pennsylvania (8.2%), Kansas (8.0%), and Michigan (7.8%). It is also above 6% in both Massachusetts and Maryland while having at least a 5.4% share in all seven states.

It has a 6.5% market share in Illinois through the first two months of 2024 and attained a 5.8% share in Kentucky through January and February.