Have you guys ever used ESPN Bet? surprising that it’s shutting down already

[Viscore]

Have you ever tried using ESPN Bet? It’s supposed to be a big one, backed by billions in capital since it’s partnered with Penn Entertainment. But from what I know, it only operates in the US.

Now it’s shutting down after just about a year, which is kinda crazy for a brand that huge. You’d think a name like ESPN could easily dominate the market, but I guess not. Maybe the competition in sports betting there is just too strong, or people didn’t really trust them enough to move away from FanDuel or DraftKings.

What do you guys think went wrong here? And if a company that big can fail, does it make crypto sportsbooks look like the better model now?

https://www.gamblingnews.com/news/espn-bet-to-shut-down-as-penn-ends-1-5b-partnership-deal/

[Johan van Der Walt]

What do you guys think went wrong here? And if a company that big can fail, does it make crypto sportsbooks look like the better model now?

Yeah, I saw that too, kinda crazy honestly. Shows how even a massive name like ESPN can flop if the product doesn’t actually click with players. Feels like they tried to rely too much on branding and forgot that trust + user experience is what really keeps people around. The US market’s brutal too, DK and FanDuel basically run it. I actually think crypto books are doing better on that front, faster, smoother payouts, and less red tape. Big budgets don’t mean much if the user side doesn’t feel right.

[7juju]

Just like you said, they might have had strong competition over there and they couldn't cope, or their marketing department didn't do the much needed advertising to establish their presence in the US market. Another thing I think made them fail is the fact that they are only based in the US. They should have made their service available in all regions, so that gamblers all over the world can access their services, that way if gamblers from one region is not patronising them, others from other regions will.

[Oshosondy]

Have you ever tried using ESPN Bet? It’s supposed to be a big one, backed by billions in capital since it’s partnered with Penn Entertainment. But from what I know, it only operates in the US.

I have heard about ESPN bet before several time but the surprising thing is that I did not know that it is a sport bookie until today. I guess it is a fiat bookie and which would be the reason I still do not know more about the site after I know join this forum.

So the site is shutting down, I think most of us on this forum will not need this because we are using crypto gambling sites.

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

What do you guys think went wrong here? And if a company that big can fail, does it make crypto sportsbooks look like the better model now?

https://www.gamblingnews.com/news/espn-bet-to-shut-down-as-penn-ends-1-5b-partnership-deal/

Did you not read the information on the link your posted? The reason why they are shutting down has been explained on the article your provided link to.

Pen entertainment had a partnership deal worth $1.5 billion with Barstool Sportsbook and rebranded the sportbook to the known ESPN and they had hope that by 2027 they will get a market share of 20% but they have not even gotten up to 5% market share, (competition is much).
As Pen entertainment withdrawn from the deal, that's why they are shutting down.

Penn Entertainment has announced its decision to withdraw from the 10-year, $1.5 billion collaboration with ESPN, effectively ending the ESPN Bet project

The partnership initially showed significant promise. In August 2023, Penn rebranded its struggling Barstool Sportsbook into ESPN Bet, hoping that the influence of the world’s most prominent sports media brand would turn it into a leading online sportsbook. Penn executives set an ambitious target, aiming for 20% market share by 2027. However, as of fall 2025, ESPN Bet had only gained 4.7% of the market, barely improving on Barstool’s figures.

[Viscore]

What do you guys think went wrong here? And if a company that big can fail, does it make crypto sportsbooks look like the better model now?

https://www.gamblingnews.com/news/espn-bet-to-shut-down-as-penn-ends-1-5b-partnership-deal/

Did you not read the information on the link your posted? The reason why they are shutting down has been explained on the article your provided link to.

Pen entertainment had a partnership deal worth $1.5 billion with Barstool Sportsbook and rebranded the sportbook to the known ESPN and they had hope that by 2027 they will get a market share of 20% but they have not even gotten up to 5% market share, (competition is much).
As Pen entertainment withdrawn from the deal, that's why they are shutting down.

Penn Entertainment has announced its decision to withdraw from the 10-year, $1.5 billion collaboration with ESPN, effectively ending the ESPN Bet project

The partnership initially showed significant promise. In August 2023, Penn rebranded its struggling Barstool Sportsbook into ESPN Bet, hoping that the influence of the world’s most prominent sports media brand would turn it into a leading online sportsbook. Penn executives set an ambitious target, aiming for 20% market share by 2027. However, as of fall 2025, ESPN Bet had only gained 4.7% of the market, barely improving on Barstool’s figures.

I know the reason, and I’ve already read the article.. my question was more about what could’ve really caused the failure. It’s not mentioned directly in the article, I just want to hear how others see it. For me, tough competition might be one of the main factors, especially if the market was already dominated by bigger or more established players. Maybe they failed to connect with users or didn’t market it the right way.

If they wanted to make it a success, they probably needed to focus more on improving user experience, forming solid partnerships, or offering something unique that would make them stand out.

[TravelMug]

I haven't heard about the ESPN has it's own betting platform? Maybe it's really the competition, FanDuel and DraftKings could really take the lion share as far as sports betting goes. I mean if we see big sporting event, the name of  those two are always there.

That's why maybe majority of the gamblers haven't heard (including myself) that ESPN has that gambling arm. So with that I will say that the main reason is that they can't keep up with the competition as it could have been marketed badly.

[krach]

This is just more consolidation in the US sports betting world rather than ESPN failing. Rather than barstool to go through the trouble of getting a license they just bought the ESPN operation. Considering barstool has some of the worst commentators in terms of making picks, they should make a lot of money. We can see how the US market is moving more and more to entertainment rather than making smart bets. From barstool's point of view, why promote other sportsbooks when you are big enough to just run your own? Im sure the math adds up, and we will see daily horrible parlay picks from the barstool pundits.

[Outhue]

Something must have happened, ESPN is already big enough, I remember when satellite dish are still a thing, ESPN names are always on every cover books and pamphlets, it is already too but and not on the same league as those that are competing with each other, I am not from the U.S, maybe someone from there can have better explanation for this? ESPN needs to competition they got the name and the reputation, what they hell went wrong.

[Russlenat]

I’ve never heard of that sportsbook before, probably because they mainly cater to U.S. citizens, while most of us here are in the crypto space, so we don’t really use those fiat-based sportsbooks. The popular ones like FanDuel, I see them all the time during NBA games, they’re always among the top advertisers, spending big just to stay visible.

Still, it’s not surprising to see a sportsbook fail even with huge investments behind it. Money alone doesn’t guarantee success; if the people running it aren’t managing things right or they miss their target market, all that capital means nothing in the long run.

[DubemIfedigbo001]

Have you ever tried using ESPN Bet? It’s supposed to be a big one, backed by billions in capital since it’s partnered with Penn Entertainment. But from what I know, it only operates in the US.

Now it’s shutting down after just about a year, which is kinda crazy for a brand that huge. You’d think a name like ESPN could easily dominate the market, but I guess not. Maybe the competition in sports betting there is just too strong, or people didn’t really trust them enough to move away from FanDuel or DraftKings.

What do you guys think went wrong here? And if a company that big can fail, does it make crypto sportsbooks look like the better model now?

https://www.gamblingnews.com/news/espn-bet-to-shut-down-as-penn-ends-1-5b-partnership-deal/

Like you mentioned, they operated only in the US, so there's actually no way we could use their services, although I've heard about them sometime ago from a friend.

A year is too small for a company to accept defeat of not penetrating the market, so I'll rule out that constraint for their decision. I believe there are other reasons behind their decision.

From my research, they're not shutting down, rather they're terminating their agreement with ESPN Which was slated for 10 years earlier. PENN continues to focus on growing their icasino business.

You can read more about it here

[Finestream]

It’s actually my first time hearing about this, and I just checked out the site. I’m pretty sure I won’t be allowed to gamble there anyway since sportsbooks operating in the U.S. are very strict with their regulations.

Here’s the sportsbook I found: https://about.espnbet.com/

After checking it out, there’s nothing really special, it doesn’t look much different from the popular crypto sportsbooks we use in terms of UI. I also noticed they’re using American odds, which makes sense since it’s mainly for the U.S. market.

[boltz]

I haven't hear about them before but since they operated only in USA , it's really hard to reach EU when this type of show should have been done at least 1 decade ago when the online wasn't as powerful as now. Now , what is the point to actually pay ESPN Bet ? when it's way more simple to open Youtube and you can watch over 10 daily shows of betting tips and betting advice and everything regarding betting.

Now , I'm sure if they made this mode 10 years later , it would have become a great show.  

[Alphakilo]

Have you ever tried using ESPN Bet? It’s supposed to be a big one, backed by billions in capital since it’s partnered with Penn Entertainment. But from what I know, it only operates in the US.

Now it’s shutting down after just about a year, which is kinda crazy for a brand that huge. You’d think a name like ESPN could easily dominate the market, but I guess not. Maybe the competition in sports betting there is just too strong, or people didn’t really trust them enough to move away from FanDuel or DraftKings.

What do you guys think went wrong here? And if a company that big can fail, does it make crypto sportsbooks look like the better model now?

https://www.gamblingnews.com/news/espn-bet-to-shut-down-as-penn-ends-1-5b-partnership-deal/

ESPN betting platform is what is shutting down on the 1st of December 2025 and it is due to reasons of underperformance and high cost of doing business of which Penn entertainment paid heavily.
 They failed to also achieve the targeted market share in the sports betting market in the U.S and other competitors seemed to do better in this regard despite the high cost of regulations that the U S regulatory agencies provided.
So a partnership with Drafting or FanDuel seems more legit and possible in coming days to keep the business going and with a new frontier to perform.

[Fiatless]

What do you guys think went wrong here? And if a company that big can fail, does it make crypto sportsbooks look like the better model now?

Many reasons could cause it, such as low profitability, poor management or a desire to diversify into another business. According to the Chairman of ESPN, Jimmy Pitaro, the company wants to tap into other opportunities.

[danherbias07]

They are not known to be a gambling place. That's what I think made it all wrong.

They are supposed to just be a channel or a website that updates everything about American Sports, and it works a lot like that. They will be remembered for sure, especially that sound they made before the show starts.

Competition is one too. There are so many US gambling applications now. Even if they name of ESPN is very popular it doesn't mean they will be the one most used when it comes to sports betting.

[Mrbluntzy]

Many reasons could cause it, such as low profitability, poor management or a desire to diversify into another business. According to the Chairman of ESPN, Jimmy Pitaro, the company wants to tap into other opportunities.

I can't agree less with what you have said, logically there's no business that will want to shut down when they are making so much profit from that business, the exception of shutting down situation is only if the business wants to venture into something else that is bigger and more profitable than what they already have. If it was a case of government policy that was causing them to want to shut down, they would have stated it by themselves but the only cause am seeing here is lack of expected profit. A lot of players now prefers crypto offshore casinos over some the online sportbook that they have.

[$crypto$]

Just found out ESPN has Sportsbook betting? I thought it was just a media about sports.
Maybe you mean that this bet has been closed? https://about.espnbet.com/

I've never bet on ESPN because it's located in the US so it's very limited to global citizens.

But there is a clear reason why ESPN bet is closed because Penn Entertainment pulled out with $1.5 billion as stated in the article.

[Nightwalker(NW)]

At first you need to know what could be the reason why they are shutdown as you said, some of this cases could be either they weren't able to payout to gambler who might won huge amount from the gambling site or maybe some could be either regulation issues which doesn't really suit them something like that, I can't be sure what could cause the problems.
Maybe they could be either planning rebranding all the above mentioned thing could actually caused it or triggered why they have choose to shutdown, and they might come with another brand name.

[Royal Cap]

What do you guys think went wrong here?
https://www.gamblingnews.com/news/espn-bet-to-shut-down-as-penn-ends-1-5b-partnership-deal/

Although I may have seen this website on social media. But I have not visited it personally. I visited it after seeing your post and the site seemed like a sports update website also looks like betting analysis website.

And if a company that big can fail, does it make crypto sportsbooks look like the better model now?

However, I think if they close their website, then maybe they can come back with a new look or name change.Another thing is that someone might have won a huge amount of money due to a bug on their site, and they couldn't pay it out.