Penn and ESPN agree early end to ESPN Bet, Penn rebrand set for December

• Penn Entertainment and ESPN will terminate their exclusive U.S. online sports betting agreement effective December 1, 2025.
• The ten-year, $2 billion partnership launched in August 2023, but market share thresholds were not met.
• Penn will rebrand its sportsbook from ESPN Bet to theScore Bet, refocusing on its iCasino strategy.

Penn Entertainment and ESPN have jointly announced the early termination of their exclusive U.S. online sports betting partnership, with operations concluding on December 1, 2025.

The original ten-year agreement was launched in August 2023, aiming to establish a leading position in the market. Both organisations cited unmet market share targets as the reason for ending their collaboration two years in.

Partnership details and rationale

Under the 2023 deal, ESPN provided Penn with media and marketing services and licensed the ESPN BET trademark for U.S. online sports betting. In exchange, Penn committed to paying ESPN $150 million annually, along with warrants to purchase shares in Penn’s common stock.

Terms allowed either party to terminate after three years if certain market share performance thresholds were not met, but the partnership concludes before reaching this milestone, according to Reuters.​

Penn CEO statement

Jay Snowden, CEO and President of Penn Entertainment, commented:

“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.

“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,” said Snowden.

Penn will rebrand its sportsbook platform to theScore Bet across the U.S., with a targeted launch date aligned to the expected legalisation of sports betting in Missouri.

“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.” Snowden concluded.

TheScore Bet already operates in Ontario and will integrate with theScore media app, which has approximately four million monthly active users in North America.​

ESPN’s position and user metrics

ESPN is ending all outstanding payment obligations in the fourth quarter of 2025, but Penn will remain an advertising client of the United States sports broadcaster.

ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro commented on the partnership’s impact:

​“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.

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

The abrupt closure leaves Penn Entertainment refocusing on digital initiatives and iCasino development, while ESPN signals intent to explore alternative media and marketing prospects within the betting sector.

As ESPN Bet transitions to theScore Bet, Penn eyes enhanced integration between its sportsbook and broader media assets in North America.​