ESPN Bet to Shut Down as Penn Ends $1.5B Partnership Deal

ESPN Bet to Shut Down as Penn Ends $1.5B Partnership Deal

Summary

Penn Entertainment has terminated its 10-year, $1.5 billion partnership with ESPN, effectively winding down the ESPN Bet sportsbook. The move, announced during Penn’s quarterly earnings call, ends an effort that began when Penn rebranded Barstool Sportsbook as ESPN Bet in August 2023.

ESPN Bet achieved only about 4.7% market share by late 2025 versus Penn’s 20% target for 2027. Penn CEO Jay Snowden said the company will cut fixed media spend, refocus resources on its North American casino and iCasino businesses, and rebrand its US sportsbook to theScore Bet by December 2025. ESPN confirmed a separate long-term marketing and product partnership with DraftKings, which will become the official bookmaker inside the ESPN app from 1 December 2025; the standalone ESPN Bet app will also shut down on that date.

Key Points

• Penn ends its 10-year, $1.5bn deal with ESPN and will close ESPN Bet.
• ESPN Bet captured roughly 4.7% market share by late 2025, far short of the 20% goal set for 2027.
• Penn will rebrand its US online sportsbook to theScore Bet and shift budget away from fixed media spend.
• ESPN is moving into a new long-term partnership with DraftKings; DraftKings will power betting inside the ESPN app from 1 December 2025.
• Reasons for the split include weak commercial performance, low customer retention and reputational tensions after gambling-related scandals and federal probes involving high-profile NBA figures.

Content Summary

Penn launched ESPN Bet by converting Barstool Sportsbook and hoped ESPN’s brand clout would secure rapid growth. That expectation did not materialise: market share barely budged and retention proved low despite large marketing reach. Penn’s leadership framed the termination as a pragmatic reset — cutting costly media arrangements and reinvesting in casinos, iCasino and a rebranded sportsbook (theScore Bet) that will link to Penn’s Hollywood Casino digital presence and theScore media app.

ESPN, for its part, has pivoted away from the joint-venture model with Penn and signed with DraftKings to provide betting services within ESPN’s ecosystem. The standalone ESPN Bet app will close on 1 December 2025, when the DraftKings tie-up becomes active. Industry observers note this episode highlights the difficulty media brands face converting audience reach into durable sportsbook customers and the reputational conflicts that arise when journalism and wagering mix.

Context and Relevance

This is a notable shake-up in the US sports-betting market. Media-brand sportsbook partnerships were seen as a growth lever — ESPN Bet was among the highest-profile attempts. Its failure underscores that branding alone doesn’t guarantee retention or scale, and it emphasises the commercial and reputational risks for media companies entering wagering.

For operators, the move signals a reallocation of capital back towards land-based and iGaming operations and a pragmatic approach to marketing spend. For regulators and rights holders, the collapse is a reminder of tensions between editorial integrity and commercial betting ties — especially when gambling-related scandals surface.

Author’s take

Punchy: Big name, big money — didn’t stick. If you’re tracking market structure, partnerships or media risk in gaming, this is a major development worth digging into. The shift to DraftKings inside ESPN and Penn’s pivot to theScore Bet will reshape where eyeballs and bets flow next.

Why should I read this?

Short version: big industry shake-up. ESPN Bet is being closed, Penn’s changing strategy, and ESPN’s rolling straight into a deal with DraftKings. If you follow sports betting, media partnerships, investment flows or regulatory headaches, this saves you the time of parsing the earnings call — it matters for competition, brand risk and who wins eyeballs in 2026.

Source

Source: https://www.gamblingnews.com/news/espn-bet-to-shut-down-as-penn-ends-1-5b-partnership-deal/