Penn Entertainment, a major player in both gambling and entertainment, is pivoting its strategy away from sports betting and towards casinos following the abrupt end of its partnership with ESPN Bet. The two companies mutually terminated their ten-year, $150 million-per-year deal, struck just last August. While ambitions had been high, ESPN Bet failed to capture a substantial market share — settling at roughly 3% instead of the targeted 10-20%.
Penn Entertainment President and CEO Jay Snowden framed the decision as a shared recognition that initial projections weren’t being met. “Both sides made it clear we expected to compete for a podium position in the space,” he acknowledged. Despite efforts to improve their product and integrate ESPN’s vast media reach, neither side felt the partnership was achieving those goals.
Snowden emphasized Penn Entertainment’s intention to concentrate on its iCasino (online casino) business moving forward. This shift is driven by strong performance in the sector: during the third quarter, iCasino revenue reached a record high, up nearly 40% year-over-year. This growth was fueled by robust cross-selling from their online sportsbook platform, highlighting a clear synergy between these offerings. Penn will continue to offer online sports betting, but will rebrand its existing platform as “theScore Bet” — leveraging the established user base of theScore media app (which boasts around 4 million monthly users in North America). This relaunch is timed for December 1st, coinciding with Missouri’s legalization of sports betting.
The company emphasizes its omnichannel advantage. They point to their success as a leading regional retail casino operator and see significant potential in cross-selling iCasino services to the 33 million members of their “Penn Play” loyalty program.
While Penn Entertainment is refocusing its digital energies on casinos, this doesn’t mean they’re abandoning sports betting entirely. The company remains committed to operating in this space but will now concentrate resources on leveraging theScore Bet’s existing user base and expanding within a market where online casino games are proving increasingly popular.
Penn Entertainment’s strategic shift away from the high-pressure, highly competitive world of top-tier sports betting reflects a calculated move towards an area where they see greater immediate opportunity for growth and profitability.
