TheScore Bet shutting down US operation to focus on Canada
Penn National-owned operator teases integration with Barstool Sportsbook
Score Media and Gaming will formally shutter its US-facing online sportsbook, theScore Bet, on July 1.
The decision is part of a strategic recalibration that will see the Canada-based outfit – which was acquired by Penn National Gaming in 2021 – shift its attention to the opportunity north of the border.
Despite offering its online sportsbook in New Jersey, Colorado, Indiana and Iowa, theScore has not been able to gain significant traction in any of those states, opting to use its sports media app as an organic conversion tool rather than committing exorbitant spend toward acquisition.
CEO John Levy frequently stated his company would not get involved in the ‘race to the bottom’ marketing blitz that has dominated the US landscape, but building meaningful market share has proven a tall order for any smaller operators without deep pockets.
The decision to exit the US, however, was directly attributable to theScore’s tie-in with Penn National, which acquired the betting operator and media company in a $2bn cash-and-stock deal last October.
Going forward, Penn will continue to feature Barstool Sportsbook, of which it owns a 36% stake, as its online and omnichannel offering for US players. Barstool is live in 12 US states, including all four theScore is exiting.
Barstool currently uses Kambi’s risk and trading platform, but theScore is in the process of developing a proprietary platform that it plans to migrate Canadian clients onto later this year. It intends to transition Barstool onto the in-house tech stack by the third quarter of 2023.
“With theScore Bet launched and thriving in Ontario, and as we approach a major undertaking this summer with the launch of our proprietary risk and trading service, the timing is right to focus our US efforts on marketing Barstool Sportsbook and our Canadian efforts on marketing theScore Bet,” theScore’s president and COO Benjie Levy said in a recent interview.
As a result, theScore Bet will cease to accept deposits or wagers on June 15, at which point customers will only be able to initiate withdrawal transactions until July 1, when the platform officially goes offline.