Penn Entertainment Reports Near-Flat Q2 Revenue
ESPN Bet’s parent company Penn Entertainment has reported financial results for Q2 2024, which are by and large in line with the analysts’ projects.

Slight Revenue Decrease
Penn Entertainment reported that the company’s overall revenue for the second quarter of 2024 slightly decreased year-over-year to $1.66 billion, with an adjusted EBITDAR of $367.0 million, representing a 23% decline compared to $476.8 million for the same period in 2023.
Despite near-flat revenue, operating expenses increased by 8.2% to $1.59 billion, largely due to a 22.3% rise in gaming costs. This led to a 63.8% decrease in operating profit, which stood at $74.5 million.
Net non-operating costs totaled $104.8 million, resulting in a pre-tax loss of $30.3 million, compared to a $112.8 million profit in the previous year. After accounting for tax benefits and other adjustments, the net loss for Q2 was $26.8 million, contrasting with a $78.4 million net profit in Q2 2023.
“Our retail business remained stable as consistent consumer trends, our diverse portfolio, and recent capital investments offset known, new supply in certain markets,” said Penn’s CEO Jay Snowden.
ESPN Bet Goes Live in the New York
The Interactive segment experienced a 9.7% decline in revenue, falling to $232.6 million. Despite the decrease, CEO Jay Snowden attributed better-than-expected revenue and adjusted EBITDA results to several operational improvements. “In our Interactive segment, top-of-funnel growth, improved risk and trading execution, and refined promotional strategies contributed to better-than-expected revenue and Adjusted EBITDA results,” said Snowden.
The adjusted EBITDA loss for the interactive segment was $102.8 million, which was below analyst expectations of $129 million.
ESPN Bet, Penn Entertainment’s high-profile partnership with ESPN, has been a focal point of their interactive strategy. Despite the overall decline in the interactive segment, ESPN Bet’s specific performance has drawn considerable attention. Penn has confirmed the operator’s launch in New York later this month. This is expected to extend ESPN Bet’s reach to 46% of the U.S. population.
Furthermore, after launching its first ESPN Bet retail sportsbook in Hollywood Greektown (MI) the company plans to rebrand its other sportsbooks this fall.
Penn has also rolled out some enhancements to the ESPN Bet online product, including a refreshed user interface, new features such as early win payouts, a referral program, and better risk and trading processes.
The digital database for ESPN Bet has grown by 81% since its launch, with average monthly active users for sports betting more than doubling year-on-year to 465,000 in Q2
ESPN Bet’s hold across states like Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, and Pennsylvania averaged 8.5% in Q2, placing it third behind major competitors DraftKings and FanDuel.
Despite rumors of a potential sale pushed by investors, Penn remains optimistic about ESPN Bet’s future prospects.
Gaming Surcharge Not on a Radar but…
In its financial report, the company did not mention the possibility of following the DraftKings steps and introducing a gaming surcharge. However, it was almost certain that Jay Snowden would not avoid questions about his competitors’ actions.
He responded “It’s not even on our radar, but I hesitate to say never”, suggesting that Penn intends to continue monitoring the market situation, including whether FanDuel decides to introduce a gaming surcharge and how this issue develops further with DraftKings.
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