PENN Entertainment, ESPN terminate sports betting deal early

PENN Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) and ESPN Inc. announced they have mutually agreed to terminate their exclusive U.S. online sports betting agreement early, effective December 1, 2025.

The original agreement, announced in August 2023, granted PENN exclusive rights to the ESPN BET trademark for online sports betting in the U.S. in exchange for $150 million annually in cash payments to ESPN and warrants to purchase PENN common stock. The deal had an initial 10-year term with termination rights after the third year if specific market share thresholds were not met.

"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," said Jay Snowden, CEO and President of PENN Entertainment. "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."

PENN plans to rebrand its U.S. online sports betting offering to theScore Bet, targeting a December 1, 2025 launch to coincide with the expected launch of sports betting in Missouri, subject to regulatory approvals. The company currently operates theScore Bet in Ontario and will leverage connectivity with the theScore media app, which has approximately 4 million monthly active users across North America.

Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman of ESPN, said ESPN drove over 2.9 million new users into the PENN ecosystem during their partnership. "We appreciate the collaboration we had with PENN and are now pursuing other media and marketing opportunities within this space," Pitaro stated.

All outstanding payments to ESPN will cease in the fourth quarter of 2025. ESPN will assist with the transition from ESPN BET to theScore Bet, and PENN will continue as an ESPN advertising client. The information was provided in a company press release.

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