The 10-year deal between Penn Entertainment and ESPN will conclude on December 1, 2025 with the shuttering of ESPN Bet less than three years after it was announced.
The end of the partnership was a mutual agreement between both sides and made use of an out clause that was baked into the agreement. Under the out clause the partnership could be terminated if market share was not where the two expected it to be.
When the partnership was first announced in 2023 Penn and Disney were anticipating something close to 10 percent of market share. In reality, they never came close to that mark. Revenue reports from September showed ESPN Bet handle and market share at only 2.8 percent, down from 3.3 percent from the previous year.
Penn Entertainment President and CEO Jay Snowden said in a statement,
“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 refocus our digital strategy on our growing iCasino business, while continuing to capitalize on our omnichannel advantage as the nation’s leading regional retail casino operator.”
Under the partnership split Penn has agreed to stop using the ESPN brand by Dec 15, while paying ESPN $38.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. Disney will not be able to license the ESPN Bet brand or launch its own sportsbook under the brand for 15 months after December 1.
Despite this, less than an hour after news of the Penn ESPN split broke, ESPN announced a new online gambling deal with DraftKings to be ESPN’s exclusive odds and sportsbook provider. Full details of that deal have yet to be disclosed, but starting Dec 1 the betting tab in the ESPN app will now direct to DraftKings.
Following the closure of ESPN Bet, Penn Entertainment has announced it will pivot back to the theScore Bet, which will be operated solely by Penn in jurisdictions where they were previously operating ESPN Bet. Currently, theScore Bet is operating in Ontario, Canada, after previously being phased out of the US market by Penn following the ESPN deal
