PENN Entertainment and ESPN have announced they have mutually agreed to the early termination of their U.S. online sports betting partnership, effective Dec. 1, 2025.
Re-Branding to theScore Bet
PENN Entertainment President and CEO Jay Snowden said the company will be rebranding their OSB offering in the U.S. to theScore Bet, timed with the expected launch of sports betting in Missouri.Â
The company currently owns and operates theScore Bet in Ontario.Â
PENN and ESPN had entered into a 10-year agreement in August 2023 where ESPN provided PENN with its name and trademark, along with marketing and media services, in exchange for PENN agreeing to pay ESPN $1.5 billion in cash over the initial 10 years. PENN re-branded its existing Barstool Sportsbook at that time to ESPN BET.
Early Termination
As part of that agreement, though, there was a clause that allowed either party to terminate the agreement after Year 3.
DraftKings becomes the networks’ exclusive official sportsbook and odds provider as of Dec. 1, 2025, as part of a multi-year partnership the two companies have in place.
In presenting their Q3 2025 financial results this morning, Snowden told callers the decision with ESPN with “mutual and amicable”, after the company was “unable to establish ESPN BET as a scale player.”
The digital re-alignment will allow the company to re-invest those resources to “strategically reinvest in the North American market … with the strongest return potential.”
Digital Re-Alignment
In a statement this morning, Snowden 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.Â
“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.”
Penn’s OSB platform is currently licensed and operating in 19 U.S. states plus Washington D.C.
Timed with Missouri Launch
“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.Â
“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.”
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