ESPN Bet to Close as Penn Ends $1.5 Billion Partnership with ESPN
Penn Ends Ambitious ESPN Bet Sportsbook Collaboration
Penn Entertainment has decided to terminate its 10-year, $1.5 billion partnership with ESPN, ending the ESPN Bet sportsbook venture that was launched just over two years ago. This announcement came during Penn’s latest quarterly earnings call and marks the conclusion of a bold but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to become a major player in the US sports betting market.
Penn’s Third Effort in Online Sports Betting
Originally, the partnership showed promise when, in August 2023, Penn rebranded its struggling Barstool Sportsbook as ESPN Bet. The plan was to leverage ESPN’s powerful sports media presence to boost its sportsbook, aiming for a 20% market share by 2027. Despite these ambitions, by late 2025, ESPN Bet had captured only about 4.7% of the market, a slight improvement over Barstool’s prior performance but far below expectations.
Jay Snowden, CEO of Penn Entertainment, spoke candidly about the challenges during the earnings call. He expressed disappointment that ESPN Bet was unable to rival the leading sportsbooks but highlighted a positive outcome: Penn will now be able to reduce fixed media expenses and focus more on its core casino and iCasino operations in North America.
“Although we made significant progress in improving our product offering and building a cohesive ecosystem with ESPN, we were unable to establish ESPN Bet as a scale player.”
Jay Snowden, Penn Entertainment CEO
Looking ahead, Penn plans to rebrand its US online sportsbook under theScore Bet, a brand already successful in Ontario. This rebranding is set to be completed by December 2025, aligning with Penn’s entry into the Missouri market. TheScore Bet will integrate with Penn’s Hollywood Casino digital brand and theScore’s media app, which currently has around four million monthly active users.
ESPN Shifts Strategy Away from Direct Betting Operations
The end of this partnership signals a swift strategic shift for ESPN. Soon after Penn’s announcement, ESPN revealed a new long-term alliance with DraftKings, which will become ESPN’s official sportsbook partner. DraftKings will be featured as the betting provider within the ESPN app starting December 1, the same day the standalone ESPN Bet app will cease operations.
Jimmy Pitaro, ESPN’s chairman, highlighted that the partnership with Penn had drawn nearly 3 million new bettors to its network. However, he acknowledged the partnership fell short in converting this influx into sustained market share due to low user retention. Industry analysts generally agree that despite ESPN’s strong brand, it struggled to foster lasting bettor loyalty.
“We appreciate the collaboration we had with Penn and are now pursuing other media and marketing opportunities within this space.”
Jimmy Pitaro, ESPN chairman
Balancing its journalism responsibilities with sports betting promotion proved challenging for ESPN. This conflict was spotlighted last month when ESPN had to report on a federal investigation involving prominent NBA figures while simultaneously displaying the ESPN Bet logo on the air. This situation caused discomfort among ESPN executives, who worried about potential damage to the network’s core brand identity.
