When the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers face off at Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday, Feb. 11, they will compete for football's highest honor at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. It was unthinkable because, for many years, professional sports teams, including the NFL, refused to go anywhere near Las Vegas, thanks to its seedy reputation.

This year’s edition features high flyers from different facets of the industry, including Fontainebleau’s Jeffrey Soffer, Pavilion’s Chris Justice, Playtech’s Mor Weizer, UNLV’s Brett Abarbanel and many more.

ESPN, which launched a $1.5 billion, 10-year deal with Penn Entertainment for a legal sports betting app this month in 17 states, announced a collaboration with UNLV’s International Gaming Institute (IGI) to study responsible sports betting practices and an analysis of media impact.

The grant will help the school develop a “pioneering” program dedicated to the study of the intersection of sports betting and the media.

As Penn Entertainment gets ready to push the launch button on ESPN BET, the network is ensuring that it becomes a thought leader in responsible gaming by partnering with UNLV on RG research.

ESPN collaborates with UNLV's International Gaming Institute (IGI) for responsible sports betting research.

'Pioneering' grant announced one day before ESPN BET sportsbook launch

The university announced that ESPN is donating $200,000 to launch the collaboration for the program, with the goal of studying the rapidly evolving sports wagering landscape and its intersection with the media.