ESPN Bet, PENN Entertainment announce end of partnership

The partnership between ESPN Bet and PENN Entertainment has come to an end. This early termination of their contract comes less than three full years into their partnership, per Front Office Sports.

The move was announced in a statement. In it, the company shared that the decision to terminate the agreement with PENN Entertainment was a mutual one.

“PENN Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) (“PENN”) and ESPN, Inc. (“ESPN”) today announced that they have mutually agreed upon the early termination of their exclusive U.S. online sports betting (“OSB”) agreement, effective December 1, 2025,” the statement read. “Under the terms of the original commercial agreement, announced in August 2023, ESPN agreed to provide PENN with media, marketing services and the exclusive right to the ESPN BET trademark for OSB in the U.S. in exchange for $150 million per year in cash payments to ESPN and warrants to purchase common stock of PENN. The agreement had an initial term of 10 years, with the right for either party to terminate the agreement after the third year if specific market share performance thresholds were not met.”

Jay Snowden, the CEO and President of PENN also shared a statement. In it, Snowden emphasized this was a mutual decision and that PENN is looking to move in a new direction.

“When we first announced our partnership with ESPN, both sides made it clear that we expected to compete for podium position in the space,” Snowden said. “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.”

ESPN, shortly after this, announced a new partnership with DraftKings. Now the official sportsbook and odds provider of ESPN, the new partnership will begin on December 1, 2025, immediately replacing the prior agreement with PENN. ESPN CEO Jimmy Pitaro announced the deal.

“Our betting approach has focused on offering an integrated experience within our products,” Jimmy Pitaro said. “Working with DraftKings, a leader in the space, will allow us to build upon that foundation, continue to super-serve passionate sports fans and grow our ESPN direct-to-consumer business. We are excited about this new collaboration with DraftKings.”

DraftKings operates in 28 states, Washington D.C., and Ontario. With more than 10 million users, the hope is that this will allow ESPN to further expand that reach. It’s also going to see DraftKings products appear on ESPN’s platforms.