The gold rush is over for ESPN Bet as its two-year flirtation with the US sports betting market is ending in closure from December 1.
The $2 billion sportsbook child of a collaboration between Disney-owned ESPN and PENN Entertainment had targeted a 20% market share in the sports betting arena, but just two years into a 10-year deal its reach has been hovering around 3% and the project is being scrapped.
As a snapshot of its recent standing, at the start of the NFL season in September New York’s online sports betting revenue jumped $28.5 million on the previous week’s return.
While market leaders DraftKings ($202.4 million) and FanDuel ($175 million) led the way with sports handle for the week, ESPN Bet managed just $10.5 million.
ESPN is now turning to DraftKings, one of the sportsbook giants which had been in its crosshairs when ESPN Bet launched in a blaze of publicity in November 2023.
From December 1, 2025, ESPN Bet will evolve into a sports betting content brand with DraftKings sportsbook integrations.
PENN Entertainment will inherit the current sportsbook and along with theScore it will rebrand its online sports betting offering in the US to theScore Bet.
Why Has ESPN Bet Failed?
It has been a kick in the teeth for PENN, which had previously invested around $550 million to acquire Barstool Sports in an effort to collar the sportsbook market.
That became part of an early alliance with ESPN in 2020 but PENN eventually sold Barstool back to founder Dave Portnoy in August 2023 for a nominal $1, so that it could plough its efforts into a new ESPN Bet branded sportsbook.
PENN declared that ESPN Bet was to be “the future of sports media and betting” but that alliance with ESPN is now dead in the water just two years into a 10-year deal.
The news broke as PENN Entertainment reported its third quarter results, which showed a net loss of $865.1 million for Q3 2025, an almighty drop from the $37.5 million loss posted for the same period last year.
PENN CEO and President Jay Snowden outlined where he felt the collaboration had failed in a press release announcing that Penn Entertainment and ESPN had mutually agreed to terminate their US sports betting agreement.
“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,” he 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 realign our digital focus on our growing iCasino business, while continuing to capitalize on our omnichannel advantage as the nation’s leading regional retail casino operator.”
ESPN Turning To DraftKings
ESPN issued the same press release in conjunction with PENN, in which Chairman Jimmy Pitaro stated coyly that the media giant would be “pursuing other media and marketing opportunities within this space.”
Within an hour, another release landed confirming that ESPN and DraftKings had entered a multi-year agreement, establishing DraftKings as the official sportsbook odds provider.
“Our betting approach has focused on offering an integrated experience within our products,” said Pitaro.
“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.”
The collaboration will begin in December with DraftKings’ products being integrated into ESPN’s ecosystem, with a full rollout expected early in the new year.
As well as having access to DraftKings’ sportsbook, other features available at launch will be DraftKings Pick6 and its daily fantasy offerings.
Jason Robins, CEO and Co-Founder of DraftKings, said: “ESPN’s unmatched visibility across the world of sports make this collaboration a natural fit.
“As an innovative leader in digital sports entertainment, DraftKings is uniquely positioned to integrate our technology and products with ESPN’s iconic brand and storytelling power.
“Together, we’re delivering a seamless, engaging, and responsible experience that elevates how fans connect with live sports.”
