ESPN BET will shut down Dec. 1 after operator PENN Entertainment and branding partner ESPN announced Thursday they have terminated their partnership.
PENN’s online division reported more than $1 billion in adjusted earnings losses before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and restructuring in the two years it operated ESPN BET.
The terminated partnership ends a two-year push to integrate the best-known name in American sports media with a fledgling sportsbook. After announcing the deal in August 2023 with intentions to capture 20% market share, ESPN BET ends operations with a projected 3% share nationwide, good for seventh place among legal sportsbooks.
ESPN Bet Collapses: PENN’s Exit & Prediction Markets Disruption w/ @GeoffZochodne & @ButlerBets @covers https://t.co/FjG1t4oC8A
— Pat Mayo (@ThePME) November 6, 2025
ESPN BET’s struggles come as FanDuel and DraftKings secured more than 30% market share apiece.
“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,” PENN CEO Jay Snowden said in a statement announcing the partnership’s end. “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.”
Disney and DraftKings announced a sports betting partnership deal moments after the PENN affiliation termination was released.
ESPN & @DraftKings enter a multi-year agreement
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) November 6, 2025
DraftKings will become the Official Sportsbook & Odds Provider of ESPN
Details: https://t.co/1Vx55jBbBc pic.twitter.com/8m9kcEFRjl
New push with theScore
PENN will try again to steady its digital gaming arm under its in-house theScore brand.
The company announced it will launch theScore Bet in its 20 live U.S. jurisdictions on Dec. 1. PENN paid $2 billion for Ontario-based theScore media assets and its in-house sports betting tech platform in 2021. The sportsbook has since been among the market share leaders in Ontario, though it struggled to gain traction under PENN before it was shutdown in the country as the company focused marketing efforts on its Barstool Sportsbook.
ESPN BET users will see their accounts transition to theScore Bet Dec. 1. Users will not have to download a new app, and their existing balances, futures bets, and account information will automatically transfer over.
PENN also operates Hollywood iCasino, which the company said it will continue to promote alongside theScore Bet.
TheScore Bet media app has roughly four million active users, two-thirds of which are in the U.S. This is compared to nearly 30 million ESPN sports app users worldwide.
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ESPN BET background
TheScore Bet push in the U.S. will be PENN’s third attempt at an American sports betting brand.
PENN is the nation's largest operator of regional casinos. Facing an aging customer base, the company pursued new, younger customers, mostly through online gaming.
The company acquired Barstool Sports for $551 million in 2020 largely to use the media company’s branding for its sports betting platform.
PENN doubled down on sports betting with the ensuing 10-year ESPN partnership that saw PENN operate the sportsbook under the branding of the “Worldwide Leader in Sports.” PENN was to pay Disney $150 million a year for ESPN branding with the ability for either side to opt out in the third year.
The sportsbook's poor performance led the two sides to mutually end the deal in year two.
With the ESPN partnership, PENN secured a 2.9 million-person customer database Snowden said Thursday will be a key part of its marketing approach going forward. The money spent on the ESPN deal will be reallocated toward marketing theScore Bet in the U.S.
"We are in full control of our entire business moving forward," Snowden said during PENN's earnings call Thursday. "We own our brands, we own our database, we own our tech stack, and we have extremely talented teams. This will enable us to better manage and forecast our digital business with greater precision, much like we have done in our regional gaming portfolio for many, many years."
