Much as foretold in these pages when their unlikely marriage was announced, PENN Entertainment and Walt Disney-owned ESPN have filed for divorce after failing–some would say spectacularly–to sunder the FanDuel-DraftKings sportsbetting and iGaming duopoly in the USA, the world’s most important market.
And now, as if this failure were not embarrassing enough, ESPN is desperately batting its eyes at DraftKings, hoping to jump into bed with the Massachusetts-based playmaker.
PENN for its part is licking its wounds after yet another kicking, following its humiliating affair with Dave Portnoy’s Barstool Sports, a company it bought for a total of US$551 million (£419.33m) in two payments; the last tranche, some US$388 million (£295.29m), in February 2023 before selling it back only six-months later to the priapic Portnoy for a peppercorn dollar.
You wouldn’t believe it if it wasn’t true.
Divorce
The formal divorce of PENN’s and ESPN Bet’s online sports betting partnership takes place on December 1.
Their “mariage de fou”, consummated on August 8, 2023, offered ESPN Inc. a dowry of US$150 million a year (£114.21m) for 10-years, and stock warrants, to grant PENN Entertainment exclusive rights to use the ESPN Bet brand for online sports betting in the U.S.
But neither partner made it to the mark and PENN will now go its merry way and rebrand as theScore Bet for all North America activities; a name taken from one of its more successful digital verticals, theScore app, which already has over four million monthly users across Canada and the U.S.
And it will join, where regulations allow, with the company’s Hollywood-branded iCasino site.
Rebrand
Referring to the dissolution and rebrand, Jay Snowden, CEO and President of PENN Entertainment, said: “When we first announced our partnership with ESPN, both sides made it clear that we expected to compete for a podium position in the space.
“Although we made significant progress in improving our product offering and building a cohesive ecosystem with ESPN, we have mutually and amicably agreed to wind down our collaboration.
“We plan to realign our digital focus on our growing iCasino business, while continuing to capitalize on our omnichannel advantage as the nation’s leading regional retail casino operator.”
For his part, ESPN Chair Jimmy Pitaro lamented: “Together, ESPN and PENN created a truly unique offering with unparalleled integrations across our various media assets.
“ESPN drove over 2.9 million new users into the PENN ecosystem, with a strong uptick in first time bettors this fall.
“We appreciate the collaboration we had with PENN [but] are now pursuing other media and marketing opportunities within this space.”
Q3 Fiscals
Meanwhile, PENN Entertainment has reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2025, with total revenue of US$1.72 billion (£1.3bn), up from US$1.64 billion (£1.24bn), like-for-like in 2024.
Despite a net loss of -US$865 million (-£658.46), largely due to an US$825 million (£628.06m) impairment charge within its interactive division, the company recorded consolidated adjusted EBITDA of US$194.9 million (£148.38m), consistent with the prior year.
PENN’s retail properties generated US$1.4 billion in revenue (£1.06bn) with an adjusted EBITDAR margin of 32.8 percent.
The company also announced continued share repurchases, buying back 7.96 million shares in the quarter for US$154 million (£117.24) at an average price of US$19.34 (£14.72)
A new US$750 million (£570.95m) repurchase program, approved by the board, will begin in January 2026 and run through December 2028.
Riches
PENN’s liquidity in Q3, ending September 30, stood at US$1.1 billion (£837.41m), including US$660 million in cash (£502.45m). Traditional net debt totalled US$2.2 billion (£1.67bn).
With some 40 casinos and racinos in 20 U.S. states, few can doubt the underlying strength and financial muscle of PENN Entertainment’s regional bricks and mortar empire.
But, to date, this embarrassment of riches has led to a folly of digital projects that have failed to deliver on their promise.
Perhaps, now divested of Portnoy’s Barstool and Disney’s ESPN Bet, PENN will finally make theScore it’s been craving.
Watch this space!
