PENN Entertainment, Inc. has reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2025 and confirmed a realignment of its digital strategy following the mutual termination of its U.S. online sports betting agreement with ESPN. The agreement, which had made ESPN the exclusive marketing partner for PENN’s sportsbook operations, will conclude on 1 December 2025.
Under the termination terms, PENN’s cash payments to ESPN will cease at the end of the fourth quarter, while ESPN will retain vested warrants to purchase 7.96 million shares at a weighted strike price of $28.95. All unvested and performance-based warrants will be forfeited. PENN will rebrand its U.S. sportsbook as theScore Bet, aligning its operations under a single North American brand already established in Ontario. The transition is subject to regulatory approvals and expected to complete by December 2025.
TheScore Bet will integrate with theScore’s digital sports media platform, which currently reaches around 4 million monthly active users. PENN will also retain a database of 2.9 million digital users gained during the ESPN partnership, including 300,000 acquired during the current football season.
For the third quarter, PENN reported total revenues of $1.72 billion, up from $1.64 billion in 2024. Despite a net loss of $865 million, largely due to an $825 million impairment charge within its interactive division, the company recorded consolidated adjusted EBITDA of $194.9 million, consistent with the prior year. Retail properties generated $1.4 billion in revenue with an adjusted EBITDAR margin of 32.8%.
The company also announced continued share repurchases, buying back 7.96 million shares in the quarter for $154 million at an average price of $19.34. A new $750 million repurchase program, approved by the board, will begin in January 2026 and run through December 2028.
PENN’s liquidity as of 30 September 2025 stood at $1.1 billion, including $660 million in cash. Traditional net debt totalled $2.2 billion. The company also received $150 million in funding from Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. in connection with the construction of a second hotel tower at M Resort Las Vegas.
The move to unify its digital operations under theScore Bet marks a significant strategic shift for PENN, aimed at leveraging its in-house media and betting assets to drive long-term growth across the U.S. and Canada following the end of the ESPN partnership.
As stated in the joint release issued this morning by PENN and ESPN, Jay Snowden, Chief Executive Officer and President, 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.
Snowden added, “PENN’s unique omnichannel strategy is anchored in a diverse portfolio of market-leading regional casinos and a complementary digital business. We are realigning our digital focus to leverage the strength of our U.S. iCasino and Canadian operations, while continuing to use OSB to drive both the acquisition of customers with significant lifetime value and unique cross-sell opportunities across PENN’s retail and digital assets.”
“PENN’s iCasino forward approach has clear long-term alignment to our core business, which will focus on cross-sell opportunities across our ecosystem and enhanced connectivity to our 33 million member PENN Play™ loyalty program. Our OSB offerings will continue to provide top of funnel acquisition and cross-sell opportunities for our Hollywood-branded iCasino, which will remain integrated into our OSB product in states where legal, in addition to serving as a standalone iCasino app. We will operate with a more efficient cost structure, including replacing fixed media spending with performance based and regionally targeted marketing that complement our casino footprint. The realignment will free up resources to strategically invest in the North American markets with strong return potential which we expect will drive enhanced unit economics and profitability.”
Mr. Snowden continued: “Demand was generally stable in our core business across gaming and non-gaming amenities during the quarter, particularly at our properties not impacted by new supply or increased competitor promotional activity. Our third-quarter performance was driven by strong results at our properties in our West segment, as well as in Ohio, St. Louis, and Illinois. We also saw increases in theoretical revenue across all rated worth segments of our retail portfolio, along with overall growth in visitation and spend per visit. The fourth quarter is off to a solid start and we are encouraged by early trends at our new Hollywood Casino in Joliet, which is driving both gaming and non-gaming volumes and database growth through its best-in-market offering. As previously disclosed, the second hotel tower at M Resort Spa Casino Las Vegas is scheduled to open on December 1, subject to regulatory approvals, and we are pleased to announce the upcoming openings of the new Hollywood Casino in Aurora and new hotel tower at Hollywood Columbus late in the second quarter of 2026.”
“Gaming revenues and Adjusted EBITDA in the quarter came in below expectations due to customer-friendly hold across our digital operations and lower than anticipated OSB volumes. Meanwhile, our North America iCasino business achieved its highest quarterly gaming revenue to date, an improvement of nearly 40% year-over-year, driven by record cross-sell from OSB of 62% and growth from our standalone Hollywood and theScore Bet iCasino apps. The momentum in our iCasino business continues to benefit from growing average MAUs, which experienced the third consecutive quarter of year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter increases,” concluded Mr. Snowden.
