PENN Entertainment and ESPN terminate sports betting deal

WYOMISSING – Penn Entertainment Inc. and ESPN Inc. have mutually agreed to the early termination of their exclusive U.S. online sports betting agreement, effective Dec. 1.

Thursday’s announcement by the two companies came just over two years into an agreement that had an initial term of 10 years.

Under the terms of the original agreement announced in August 2023, ESPN agreed to provide Penn with media, marketing services and the exclusive right to the ESPN BET trademark for online sports betting, in exchange for $150 million per year in cash payments to ESPN and warrants to purchase common stock of Penn, according to a press release.

The agreement gave either company the right to terminate the agreement after the third year if specific market share performance thresholds were not met.

In a statement, Penn Entertainment President and CEO Jay Snowdon said that when the two parties announced the partnership, “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,” he said.

Snowdon added that Penn Entertainment plans to realign its digital focus on the company’s growing iCasino business.

Snowdon said the Wyomissing-based company plans to rebrand its online sports betting in the U.S. to theScore Bet, with a target date of Dec. 1, which he said would coincide with the expected launch of sports betting in Missouri.

The company currently operates theScore Bet brand in Ontario, Canada. Its online sports betting product in the U.S. and Canada will now leverage connectivity with the theScore media app.

“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,” Snowdon added.

“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,” ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. “We appreciate the collaboration we had with Penn and are now pursuing other media and marketing opportunities within this space.”

All outstanding payments to ESPN will cease in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the release. Additionally, ESPN will work with Penn to facilitate a transition from ESPN BET to theScore Bet leading up to and following the termination date. Penn will continue to be an ESPN advertising client.

Penn Entertainment Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates in 28 jurisdictions throughout North America, with a diversified portfolio of casinos, racetracks, and online sports betting and iCasino offerings.