Penn Entertainment is preparing for a better streamlined transition on December 1, when the company will rebrand ESPN Bet to theScore Bet. According to the plan, users won’t have to download a new app, re-register, or go through any of the disruptions that hurt its last rebrand from Barstool.
“Apples and Oranges”
Speaking on Penn’s third-quarter earnings call, chief executive officer Jay Snowden said the upcoming switch will be “apples and oranges” compared to the chaotic Barstool transition.
“We had put our customers through a lot of hoops to jump, and we had a new technology stack,” he said. “We were down for several days. We asked them to come back in and re-register and redeposit. A lot was going on that created noise, in addition to the brand change.”
This time, Snowden said, the company expects a seamless handover that will keep users in place and help retain customers as Penn aims to break even in its interactive business by 2026.
The company will also stop all payments to ESPN at the end of the fourth quarter, following the early termination of their 10-year partnership announced in 2023.
The decision to walk away from the ESPN deal, after spending around $300 million over two years, marks another tough moment for Penn, which has struggled to gain ground in the crowded US sports betting market despite spending billions on acquisitions.
The company bought Barstool for $550 million before selling it back to founder Dave Portnoy for $1, and it paid $2 billion for theScore.
Mixed Reactions
The market’s reaction was mixed, with Penn’s share price briefly climbing before settling about 3% lower by the close. ESPN wasted no time moving on, announcing just an hour later that DraftKings will become its new official sportsbook partner starting December 1.
Snowden explained the early exit was built into the contract and said it was clear Penn wasn’t on the market share trajectory needed to justify continuing.
“And so, you know where it’s headed, why string this along?” he said. “Let’s get together and figure out the best path forward for both companies.”
Penn plans to focus on its most profitable markets and use more advanced marketing tools to boost retention.
“We have the ability to target and personalise from a marketing and CRM perspective today that we just didn’t have even a year ago,” Snowden said. “We’ve got a full marketing plan, and we’re going to be ready to go.”
The company reported $297.7 million in third-quarter interactive revenue with a $76.6 million adjusted EBITDA loss. Chef financial officer Felicia Hendricks said losses should narrow in Q4, with some one-time expenses rolling off before 2026.
Snowden ended the call by warning that prediction markets could pose an “existential” threat to the gambling industry, urging operators and regulators to address the issue before it expands beyond sports betting.