PENN Entertainment Enters Agreement with ESPN to Rebrand Sportsbook

Out with Barstool Sports and in with ESPN Bet.

(Wyomissing, Pa.) – PENN Entertainment, Inc. and ESPN are teaming to transform U.S. online sports betting.

Barstool Sportsbook will be rebranded ESPN Bet in the fall of 2023 after PENN secured the exclusive rights to the ESPN Bet trademark for online sports betting.

PENN currently operates sportsbooks across 16 jurisdictions in the U.S., including Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg.

The agreement is for an initial 10-year term which may be extended for an additional 10 years upon mutual agreement.

As part of the agreement, PENN has agreed to make $1.5 billion in cash payments to ESPN paid over the initial 10-year term and grant ESPN approximately $500 million of warrants to purchase approximately 31.8 million PENN common shares that will vest ratably over 10 years, in exchange for media, marketing services, brand and other rights provided by ESPN.

As for Barstool Sports, PENN has sold 100 percent of the common stock to founder David Portnoy in exchange for certain non-compete and other restrictive covenants. PENN also has the right to receive 50% of the gross proceeds received by David Portnoy in any subsequent sale or other monetization event of Barstool.

Jay Snowden, Chief Executive Officer and President of PENN, commented, “This transformative, exclusive agreement with ESPN marks another major milestone in PENN’s evolution from a pure-play U.S. regional gaming operator to a North American entertainment leader. ESPN Bet will be deeply integrated with ESPN’s broad editorial, content, digital and linear product, and sports programming ecosystem. ESPN Bet will also benefit from PENN’s operational experience, extensive market access and proprietary technology platform, which successfully debuted in the U.S. this July.”

For more information, visit https://investors.pennentertainment.com/press-releases.