PENN Entertainment, Inc. and ESPN, Inc. have announced a mutual agreement to terminate their exclusive U.S. online sports betting partnership, with the arrangement set to conclude on 1 December 2025.
The original deal, signed in August 2023, granted PENN exclusive rights to use the ESPN BET brand for online sports betting in the U.S. in exchange for annual cash payments of $150 million and stock warrants issued to ESPN. The contract was intended to run for 10 years, but included a clause allowing either party to end the partnership after the third year if market share thresholds were not achieved.
As part of the termination, PENN’s remaining payments to ESPN will cease in the fourth quarter of 2025. Both companies will work together to manage the transition from ESPN BET to PENN’s new sportsbook brand, theScore Bet, which is already active in Ontario and will now serve as the company’s unified North American online sports betting platform.
Following the conclusion of the agreement, PENN will remain an ESPN advertising client. The decision marks a strategic shift for PENN as it refocuses its digital operations under theScore brand, while ESPN continues to maintain a presence in the sports betting media space through its existing partnerships and content initiatives.
“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,” said Jay Snowden, CEO and President of PENN Entertainment. “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.”
Snowden continued, “Looking ahead, we plan to rebrand our OSB offering in the U.S. to theScore Bet®, with a target date of December 1, 2025 to coincide with the expected launch of sports betting in Missouri, subject to regulatory approvals. We currently operate theScore Bet brand in Ontario, and our OSB product across both the U.S. and Canada will now leverage connectivity with the theScore media app, which has approximately 4 million monthly active users across North America. Our OSB offerings will continue to provide a top of funnel cross-sell opportunity for our Hollywood-branded iCasino, which will remain integrated into our OSB product offering in states where legal, in addition to serving as a standalone iCasino app.”
Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman of ESPN, said, “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 and are now pursuing other media and marketing opportunities within this space.”
