ESPN Bet App Shuts Down Amid NBA Gambling Scandal

On Penn Entertainment and ESPN announced the early termination of the US online sportsbook ESPN Bet, effective December 1, 2025. ESPN is withdrawing its name and marketing rights from the partnership; ESPN Bet will be renamed The Score Bet.

Under the original agreement, ESPN provided Penn with its name and trademarks, as well as media and marketing services, in exchange for $150 million per year in cash payments and warrants to purchase Penn's common stock. (This was the same deal under which Barstool Sports was sold back to Dave Portnoy.) The deal, first signed in August 2023, had a term of 10 years. It included a clause stating, "If specific market share performance thresholds are not met, either party may terminate the agreement after the third year." We didn't reach the third year.

The online sportsbook will be renamed TheScore Bet.

No NBA-ba-aa-aa-aa here. ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement that his company is "now exploring other media and marketing opportunities in this region." (The new deal, revealed shortly after Penn's departure, was an agreement for DraftKings to operate the betting tab in the new ESPN app starting December 1st. The standalone ESPN Bet app will remain closed under the new agreement.)

Penn Entertainment CEO and President Jay Snowden said, "When we first announced our partnership with ESPN, both parties made it clear that we expect to compete for a podium spot in this region." "Although we have made significant progress in enhancing our product offerings and building a coherent ecosystem with ESPN, we have mutually agreed to end our collaboration. We plan to focus our digital strategy on our growing iCasino business, while continuing to leverage our omnichannel advantage as the nation's leading regional retail casino operator." Snowden continued, "Moving forward, we plan to rebrand our OSB product in the US as theScore Bet. The target date is December 1, 2025, which will coincide with the expected launch of sports betting in Missouri. This is subject to regulatory approval. We currently operate the theScore Bet brand in Ontario, and our OSB product in both the US and Canada will now leverage connectivity with the theScore Media app, which has approximately 4 million monthly active users in North America. Our OSB product will continue to provide excellent cross-sell opportunities for our Hollywood-branded iCasino, which, in addition to operating as a standalone iCasino app, will be integrated into our OSB product in states where it is legal."

ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro said, "Together, ESPN and Penn have created a truly unique offering with unmatched integration across our various media properties. ESPN added over 2.9 million new users to the Penn ecosystem and saw a significant increase in first-time bettors this fall. We appreciate our collaboration with Penn and are now exploring other media and marketing opportunities in this region."

ESPN ran into trouble last month when the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office arrested current NBA player Terry Rozier, former player Damon Jones, and former player and current Portland Trailblazers head coach Chauncey Billups in a recent federal investigation into illegal sports betting and rigged poker games. ESPN paid billions of dollars to the league for media rights while covering the NBA scandal, and during this time, the ESPN betting illusion dominated the bottom third of the screen. It was awkward, and now it's a little less awkward.