Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder shoots a layup in front of Aaron Nesmith of the Indiana Pacers during the fourth quarter in Game Five of the 2025 NBA Finals on June 16, 2025. Nate Billings - Pool/Getty Images Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Amid an NBA gambling scandal, ESPN, one of the league's partners, is exiting the betting business. On Thursday, Penn Entertainment and ESPN announced the early termination of U.S. online sports book ESPN Bet, effective Dec. 1, 2025. Basically, ESPN is exiting the deal and ESPN Bet will be rebranded theScore Bet. Under the original agreement, ESPN provided Penn with its name and trademark, as well as media and marketing services in exchange for $150 million a year in cash payments and warrants to purchase Penn common stock. The deal, first struck in August 2023, had a 10-year term. It included a clause that would allow either party to terminate after year three "if specific market share performance thresholds were not met." We didn't quite make it there. Related Stories Business NBA Take-Two Media Reboots 2K League, With YouTube Creator Jesser as Honorary Commissioner TV How to Watch the 2025 NBA Cup In-Season Tournament Online Without Cable Jimmy Pitaro, the chairman of ESPN, said in a statement that his company is "now pursuing other media and marketing opportunities within this space." The final payment(s) to ESPN will soon cease. Penn will continue to advertise on ESPN. "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," said Jay Snowden, CEO and president of Penn Entertainment. "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." Snowden continued, "Looking ahead, we plan to rebrand our OSB offering in the U.S. to theScore Bet, with a target date of December 1, 2025 to coincide with the expected launch of sports betting in Missouri, subject to regulatory approvals. We currently operate theScore Bet brand in Ontario, and our OSB product across both the U.S. and Canada will now leverage connectivity with the theScore media app, which has approximately 4 million monthly active users across North America. Our OSB offerings will continue to provide a top of funnel cross-sell opportunity for our Hollywood-branded iCasino, which will remain integrated into our OSB product offering in states where legal, in addition to serving as a standalone iCasino app." Jimmy Pitaro, chairman of ESPN, said, "Together, ESPN and Penn created a truly unique offering with unparalleled integrations across our various media assets. ESPN drove over 2.9 million new users into the Penn ecosystem, with a strong uptick in first time bettors this fall. We appreciate the collaboration we had with Penn and are now pursuing other media and marketing opportunities within this space." More to come. THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day Subscribe Sign Up The Fien Print 'Death by Lightning' Review: Michael Shannon and Matthew Macfadyen Headline Netflix's Mostly Gripping, Slightly Rushed Presidential Assassination Thriller Warner Bros. Television Taylor Momsen Claims Studio Execs Called Her "Ungrateful" for Wanting to Quit 'Gossip Girl' YouTube TV Sinclair CEO Rips Disney Over ABC Blackout for YouTube TV Users SNL Ego Nwodim Is "Honored" to Be the Seventh Black Woman on 'SNL' and Hopes More Will Join Cast TV Ratings TV Ratings: MSNBC Gets Big Election Night Boost With Democratic Wins Live Feed Sarah Snook on Why She Opted for 'All Her Fault' After 'Succession': "I Can't Top That, So Finding Something Different Was Really Important" The Fien Print 'Death by Lightning' Review: Michael Shannon and Matthew Macfadyen Headline Netflix's Mostly Gripping, Slightly Rushed Presidential Assassination Thriller Warner Bros. Television Taylor Momsen Claims Studio Execs Called Her "Ungrateful" for Wanting to Quit 'Gossip Girl' YouTube TV Sinclair CEO Rips Disney Over ABC Blackout for YouTube TV Users SNL Ego Nwodim Is "Honored" to Be the Seventh Black Woman on 'SNL' and Hopes More Will Join Cast TV Ratings TV Ratings: MSNBC Gets Big Election Night Boost With Democratic Wins Live Feed Sarah Snook on Why She Opted for 'All Her Fault' After 'Succession': "I Can't Top That, So Finding Something Different Was Really Important"