PENN and ESPN End Sports Betting Partnership Early, ESPN BET Brand to Retire
PENN Entertainment and ESPN have reached a mutual agreement to terminate their exclusive online sports betting (OSB) partnership ahead of schedule. The agreement, which established the ESPN BET brand, will officially end on December 1, 2025.
The original deal, announced in August 2023, was structured for a ten-year term, with both parties having the option to terminate after three years if specific market share goals were not met.
Under the terms of the original arrangement, PENN provided $150 million per year in cash payments to ESPN, along with warrants to purchase PENN common stock, in exchange for media, marketing services, and the exclusive right to the ESPN BET trademark in the U.S. All outstanding payments to ESPN will cease in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Shift to theScore Bet and iCasino Focus
Jay Snowden, CEO and President of PENN Entertainment, confirmed the mutual and amicable decision to conclude the collaboration. Moving forward, PENN plans to rebrand its U.S. OSB offering to theScore Bet®. The target date for this launch is December 1, 2025, timed to coincide with the expected start of regulated sports betting in Missouri, pending regulatory approval.
PENN will now realign its digital strategy to emphasize its growing iCasino business. This shift will utilize the company’s existing omnichannel advantage as a leading regional retail casino operator. The rebranded platform will leverage the connectivity with theScore media app, which currently has approximately 4 million monthly active usersacross North America. The OSB offerings will continue to serve as a key opportunity for cross-selling into PENN’s Hollywood-branded iCasino where legal.
ESPN to Pursue Other Opportunities
Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman of ESPN, acknowledged the collaboration resulted in a unique offering with significant integration across ESPN’s media assets. During the partnership, ESPN successfully drove over 2.9 million new users into the PENN ecosystem, noting a strong increase in first-time bettors.
With the termination, ESPN will cease its exclusive OSB agreement but will remain an advertising client of PENN. Leading up to and following the transition date, ESPN will work with PENN to facilitate the change from the ESPN BET brand to theScore Bet®.
The conclusion of the agreement frees ESPN to pursue other media and marketing opportunities within the sports betting sector.
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