Penn Entertainment remains confident about the future prospects for ESPN Bet after reporting its Q1 results.
Total revenue across the company’s land-based and online gaming operations was US$1.67bn, up from $1.6bn in Q1 2024.
Land-based gaming brought in $1.4bn and adjusted EBITDA of $457m.
Penn’s Interactive segment, which includes ESPN Bet as well as its Hollywood Casino igaming operations, added revenue of $290.1m, up from $207.7m in Q1 2024.
Interactive adjusted EBITDA rose from a loss of $196m to a loss of $89m.
Penn CEO and president Jay Snowden said bad weather affecting its entire land-based portfolio in January and February impacted adjusted EBITDAR by $10m in the quarter, but he said gaming volumes “rebounded in March and remained consistent through April and early May.”
Snowden said customer-friendly sports betting results affected Interactive adjusted EBITDA by around $10m, but he insisted the synergies between Penn’s online gaming apps are beginning to show.
“Importantly, ESPN Bet and theScore Bet continue to provide a strong top of funnel for our online casino platforms, which achieved record gaming revenue in the quarter and are contributing meaningfully to our results,” he said.
“Our online casino momentum is bolstered by the compelling early results of our standalone icasino app in Pennsylvania and Michigan, which recently expanded into New Jersey and Ontario.
“Additionally, since the year began, we have rolled out several ESPN Bet product enhancements and new features leveraging account linking, including adding ESPN favourites to the app homepage and creating a new rewards program.
“Throughout the year we plan to continue executing our strategy to provide a differentiated, personalised digital offering while also working to deliver on our performance goals.”
ESPN Bet, the result of the rebranding of Barstool Sportsbook in a $2bn deal with the Disney-owned media giant, has faced criticism for its struggles for market share and profitability.
Both sides have an opt-out clause in 2026, the third year of the deal.
“We are also seeing the benefits of our differentiated omnichannel strategy, as those pre-existing customers in Pennsylvania and Michigan who have engaged with our standalone Hollywood icasino app have increased their spend meaningfully across both retail and online channels,” Snowden added.
Penn is also under fire over changes to its board announced recently.
