theScore Bet is the sportsbook arm of PENN Entertainment, the American casino group behind Hollywood Casino, and the betting side of theScore, one of the most-used sports news and scores apps in North America. Since 1 December 2025 it has also been the home of everyone who used to bet with ESPN Bet, after PENN and ESPN ended their partnership early. This review covers theScore Bet as it stands in October 2026: the US states and Canadian provinces where it is licensed, the welcome offers reported by 2026 sources, the app and its link to theScore media app, PENN Play rewards, payments and withdrawal times, responsible-gambling tools, and how it compares with the larger US sportsbooks. It is a regulated, fiat-currency sportsbook, not a crypto site, so it is only open to players located in a state or province where it holds a licence.
- Who runs it: PENN Entertainment, which bought Score Media and Gaming in 2021. theScore Bet is licensed by each state regulator where it operates and by the Ontario and Alberta authorities in Canada.
- Where it is live: 20 US states plus Washington DC according to October 2026 reviews, along with Ontario (since 2022) and Alberta (since 13 July 2026). New York is live but excluded from the welcome offers.
- ESPN Bet is gone: ESPN Bet was rebranded to theScore Bet on 1 December 2025. Accounts, balances and open bets moved over automatically, but former ESPN Bet and Barstool Sportsbook customers do not qualify for new-customer offers.
- Welcome offer: October 2026 sources describe a Bet Reset of up to $1,000 in bonus bets in most states, and a "bet $10, get $100 in bonus bets if you win" offer in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Ontario rules stop operators advertising sign-up bonuses publicly.
- Payouts: reviews say withdrawals are processed within 72 hours and usually arrive in one to three business days, with a $10 minimum and no fee from theScore.
theScore Bet at a glance
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Owner | PENN Entertainment (Nasdaq: PENN), through Score Media and Gaming |
| Regulation | State gaming regulators in each US state; AGCO and iGaming Ontario in Ontario; AGLC in Alberta |
| US availability | AZ, CO, DC, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MA, MI, MO, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, TN, VA, WV (October 2026) |
| Canada | Ontario since April 2022; Alberta since 13 July 2026 |
| Products | Sportsbook; online casino via Hollywood Casino in four US states and theScore Casino in Canada |
| Welcome offer (US) | Bet Reset up to $1,000 in most states, or bet $10 and get $100 in bonus bets if you win in MI, NJ, PA and WV |
| Loyalty | PENN Play, with automatic enrolment and tier points on bets |
| Withdrawals | Processed within 72 hours; 1 to 3 business days to arrive; $10 minimum |
| App ratings | 4.7 / 5 on the App Store and 4.2 / 5 on Google Play, as reported in October 2026 |
| Our score | 4.3 / 5 |
Sportsbook offers and state lists change often. Everything here was checked against 2026 sources, but the terms in the app on your own account are the final word.
Our verdict on theScore Bet
theScore Bet is a solid, fully regulated sportsbook with one clear selling point: its tie-in with theScore media app. If you already follow scores, news and alerts in theScore, the ability to see odds, place bets and track them from the same place is genuinely convenient. Its market coverage is broad, the app is well rated, and the parent company runs dozens of land-based casinos, so there is no question about who stands behind it.
It is not the market leader on price or depth. Reviewers describe its odds as average rather than sharp, and its props and futures menus are thinner than at DraftKings or FanDuel. The brand has also changed name more than once in the US, from Barstool Sportsbook to ESPN Bet to theScore Bet, and PENN is still rebuilding its American market share. In Canada the story is stronger: Ontario is PENN’s largest online sports betting market, and the company is spending heavily in Alberta.
theScore Bet suits recreational bettors who already use theScore app, Ontario and Alberta players who want a well-known local brand, and anyone who visits PENN casinos and wants online play to count towards PENN Play rewards. Bettors who care most about the sharpest prices or the deepest prop markets should compare it with the bigger books on our sportsbooks page first.
Pros and cons
What we like
- Licensed in more than 20 US jurisdictions plus Ontario and Alberta, backed by a large listed casino company.
- Close integration with theScore news and scores app, including bet tracking alongside live scores.
- Same-game parlays, parlays of 2 to 15 legs, alternate lines, live betting and frequent profit boosts.
- Wide choice of US deposit methods, including PayPal, Venmo, online banking and cash at Hollywood Casino properties.
- A full set of limits, cool-offs and self-exclusion, plus the option to hide the casino tab where it is offered.
- Strong app-store ratings for a mid-sized book.
What to watch
- Average pricing; reviewers note a small premium on props and futures compared with the sharpest books.
- Welcome offers differ by state, and former ESPN Bet or Barstool customers cannot claim them.
- Online casino is only available in a handful of US states.
- PENN Play earns slowly from sports betting alone and is most useful if you visit PENN properties.
- Desktop betting may require the GeoComply location plug-in.
- Three US brand names in about five years, which may make some bettors wary.
Ownership, licences and the ESPN Bet story
theScore started as a Canadian sports media company. After the US Supreme Court struck down the federal sports betting ban in 2018, it moved into betting, signed a 20-year market access deal with Penn National Gaming in 2019 and launched theScore Bet in New Jersey that September. In August 2021 Penn agreed to buy Score Media and Gaming for about $2 billion in cash and stock, and theScore Bet launched in Ontario when the province opened its regulated market in April 2022.
In the US, PENN spent the following years trying other brands. It ran Barstool Sportsbook until 2023, then signed a 10-year licensing deal with ESPN and relaunched as ESPN Bet. That partnership did not deliver the market share PENN wanted. In November 2025 the two companies agreed to end it early, and on 1 December 2025 ESPN Bet was replaced by theScore Bet across the US. The app looked, felt and played the same, with a new name and colours. Account details, balances and pending bets moved across automatically, and Missouri launched on the same day. ESPN has since been reported to work with DraftKings for odds and betting content.
What regulation means for you
Unlike the offshore crypto sites we review, theScore Bet is licensed in every jurisdiction it serves. In the US that means a state gaming regulator such as the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement or the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. In Ontario it is registered with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and listed by iGaming Ontario, and in Alberta it is registered with Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis. Regulated books must verify your identity, check your location, keep player funds protected and offer responsible-gambling tools, and you can complain to the regulator if a dispute is not resolved. PENN also says theScore Bet is accredited under the RG Check responsible-gambling programme.
The flip side is that you must be physically inside a licensed state or province to bet, and you will be asked for your full name, date of birth, address and the last digits of your Social Security number (or Canadian equivalents) when you sign up. Do not use a VPN or false details to get around location checks: geolocation is a licence condition, and accounts that break it can be closed.
Where theScore Bet is available in October 2026
October 2026 reviews from Action Network and BettingUSA list the same US footprint: 20 states plus Washington DC. Some older articles quote 20 or 21 "states" because they count DC differently.
| Market | Sportsbook | Online casino | Welcome offer |
|---|---|---|---|
| AZ, CO, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MO, NC, OH, TN, VA | Yes | No | Bet Reset up to $1,000 |
| MI, NJ, PA, WV | Yes | Yes, as Hollywood Casino | Bet $10, get $100 in bonus bets if you win |
| New York | Yes | No | Not eligible for either offer |
| Washington DC | Yes | No | Check the app |
| Ontario | Yes | Yes, as theScore Casino | Not advertised publicly under Ontario rules |
| Alberta | Yes, since 13 July 2026 | Yes, theScore Casino and Hollywood Casino | Not advertised publicly |
Minimum ages follow local law: 21 in every US state where it operates, and 19 in Ontario. In Canada, theScore Bet is not available in provinces outside Ontario and Alberta, where the provincial lottery corporations run their own sites. For the wider picture, see our US betting page and our Canada page.
Welcome offers in 2026
theScore Bet runs two different welcome offers in the US, depending on the state, and affiliate sites attach their own promo codes to them. Several October 2026 sources agree on the structure, though the codes differ.
Bet Reset up to $1,000
In most states, your first eligible cash bet of up to $1,000 is covered: if it loses, you get your stake back as five equal bonus bets, up to $1,000 in total. Cash-outs, voided bets and bets placed with bonus funds do not trigger the reset. The minimum deposit is $10. Bonus bets are not withdrawable; only the winnings from them are.
Bet $10, get $100 if you win
In Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, the offer reported in October 2026 is different. You deposit, place a bet of at least $10, and if that bet wins you receive $100 in bonus bets, paid as five $20 tokens that expire after seven days. If the first bet loses, you get nothing. BettingUSA reports a 1x playthrough on the bonus amount before net winnings can be withdrawn.
Bonus bets return only the profit, not the stake. Say a $200 first bet loses and you receive five $40 bonus bets. Placed at even money (+100) each, every winning token returns $40 in profit. After a typical margin, the true chance of winning an even-money bet is nearer 48% than 50%, so each token is worth about $19 (0.48 × $40) and the five are worth roughly $96 in cash terms. That is far less than the $200 headline. Using the tokens on longer odds raises the share of the stake you keep when they win, but also how often you lose them.
Neither offer is available to customers who already had an ESPN Bet or Barstool Sportsbook account, because those accounts moved to theScore Bet. Hollywood Casino has its own casino welcome offers in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Read how bonus bets and playthrough work in our bonuses explained guide and compare current deals on our bonuses page.
Ontario and Alberta
In Ontario, regulated operators may not advertise sign-up bonuses to the public, so theScore Bet shows offers only inside the app or to registered players. Alberta’s framework follows Ontario’s closely. If you are in either province, check the promotions tab after signing up and read the terms before opting in.
Sportsbook, markets and the app
The sportsbook covers the main US leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college football and basketball) plus soccer, tennis, golf, boxing, UFC and MMA, and NASCAR. Bet types include moneylines, spreads, totals, halves, player props, futures and live in-play betting. Parlays run from 2 to 15 legs, and same-game parlays and alternate lines are available on major games.
Promotions for existing players include daily profit boosts, bonus-bet offers, injury insurance on some markets and a refer-a-friend offer in eligible states. Reviewers single out the in-play product and live streams as relative strengths, and the parlay builder as easy to use.
theScore app integration
The main difference from rivals is the link to theScore media app. In Bet Mode you see odds next to scores and news, follow open bets alongside live game data and jump into the sportsbook to place a bet. If you already use theScore for alerts, this is the feature that justifies an account; if you do not, theScore Bet is a fairly standard book.
Pricing
Reviewers describe theScore Bet’s pricing as average. Margins on main NFL and NBA lines are in the usual US range, while props and futures sometimes cost a little more than at the sharpest books. If price matters to you, compare lines on the events you bet most often. Our guide to sports betting odds shows how to work out a sportsbook’s margin from its prices.
A standard -110 / -110 spread has an implied probability of 52.38% on each side, or 104.76% in total, so the book’s margin is about 4.5%. If your side is -115 at one book and -110 at another, a winning $100 bet pays $86.96 profit at -115 and $90.91 at -110, about $4 less on every win. Over a season of regular bets, that gap adds up.
Online casino: Hollywood Casino and theScore Casino
theScore Bet is mainly a sportsbook, but PENN runs online casinos alongside it in a few markets. In the US, casino games are offered under the Hollywood Casino brand in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, which are among the few states that allow online casino play. You can reach it from the theScore Bet app in those states. In the other sportsbook states there is no real-money casino.
In Canada, the casino is branded theScore Casino. In Ontario it has been offered since 2022 and now also has a standalone app; in Alberta, PENN launched theScore Bet, theScore Casino and Hollywood Casino on the day the market opened. Reviews describe a large slot library from major studios, live-dealer tables and some local exclusives such as a Blue Jays-branded blackjack table. RTPs vary by game and sometimes by jurisdiction, so check the information screen. Our RTP guide explains why that matters, and our casinos hub lists other regulated options.
PENN Play rewards
All theScore Bet customers in the US are enrolled automatically in PENN Play, the loyalty programme that also covers PENN’s land-based casinos. You earn tier points and rewards that can be used for bonus bets online or at PENN properties for hotel stays, dining and play. PENN Cash and PENN Play credits can be used at PENN destinations and, in some cases, online.
| Item | As reported in October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Enrolment | Automatic for all eligible customers |
| Straight bets | 1 tier point per $10 wagered |
| Parlays | 1 tier point per $5 wagered |
| First tier move | 1,000 tier points |
| First PENN Cash reward | 3,000 tier points |
At 1 point per $10 on straight bets, reaching the first PENN Cash reward at 3,000 points means wagering $30,000. With an average margin of 4.5%, the expected cost of that betting is about $1,350, far more than any reward it unlocks. Treat PENN Play as a bonus on betting you would do anyway, not a reason to bet more.
Reviewers call the earn rate slow. The programme makes most sense if you already visit Hollywood Casino, Ameristar or other PENN properties, where online and retail play count towards the same account. Canadian players have their own promotions rather than PENN Play.
Payments and withdrawal speed
theScore Bet is a fiat-currency sportsbook. It does not accept cryptocurrency, and all deposits and withdrawals go through US banking methods or, in Canada, Canadian ones such as Interac.
| Method | Deposit | Withdrawal |
|---|---|---|
| Debit card | Yes | Yes |
| Credit card | Yes | No |
| Online banking (Trustly) and ACH | Yes | Yes, up to $50,000 per transaction via Trustly |
| PayPal | Yes | Yes |
| Venmo | Yes | Yes |
| Skrill | Yes | Yes |
| Apple Pay | Yes | Check the cashier |
| Cash at Hollywood Casino properties | Yes | Yes |
| Wire transfer | Yes | Yes |
| Paper cheque | No | Yes |
The minimum deposit and withdrawal is $10. BettingUSA reports that theScore Bet processes withdrawal requests within 72 hours and that funds then usually arrive in one to three business days, with no fee from theScore (your bank or wallet provider may charge one). E-wallets such as PayPal are usually quickest once a withdrawal is approved; cheques by post are slowest. Your first withdrawal can take longer if the identity check is not complete, and most US books require you to withdraw to a method you have already used to deposit. Our deposits and withdrawals guide explains the usual reasons for delays.
Responsible gambling tools
As a regulated operator, theScore Bet has to offer a full set of player-protection tools, and its set is among the more complete in the US market. Reviews list the following in the account settings:
- Daily time limits on play.
- Daily, weekly and monthly limits on deposits, wagers and losses.
- A maximum single-bet limit.
- Cool-off periods from one day to three months.
- Self-exclusion from six months to permanent, alongside state self-exclusion lists.
- The option to hide the casino tab where one is offered.
Treat sports betting as paid entertainment, set a budget before the season starts and set the limits on the first day rather than after a losing run. Profit boosts and parlay offers are designed to keep you betting; they rarely change the long-run maths.
In the US, call or text the National Council on Problem Gambling helpline at 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738), free and confidential, 24 hours a day. In Ontario, contact ConnexOntario at 1-866-531-2600, also 24/7. Our responsible gambling guide and responsible gambling hub list more tools and services.
PENN’s 2026: Alberta, results and what comes next
For PENN, 2026 has been about making theScore Bet work after the ESPN split. The key events so far:
- Alberta approval (April 2026): Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis approved PENN to run theScore Bet’s sportsbook and casino in the province, and pre-registration opened.
- Alberta launch (13 July 2026): PENN went live with theScore Bet, theScore Casino and Hollywood Casino on the day Alberta’s regulated market opened, and committed about $20 million to the province in its first year, including marketing and a Canadian Football League partnership.
- Second-quarter results (August 2026): PENN’s interactive division was still loss-making but cut its loss from $62 million a year earlier to $9.5 million. Management said Ontario is PENN’s largest online sports betting market, warned that Alberta spending would make the third quarter the division’s weakest of the year, and expected a positive fourth quarter.
- US position: PENN does not publish US market share by brand, and chief executive Jay Snowden has described theScore in the US as small but loyal. Savings from ending the ESPN deal were largely redirected to Canada.
For players, the practical result is a stable product. The US app has kept the technology built under ESPN Bet, and PENN’s investment is now concentrated on Canadian growth rather than expensive US branding.
Player feedback
theScore Bet’s app was rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store and 4.2 on Google Play according to October 2026 promo coverage, both strong for a mid-sized US sportsbook. Reviewers praise the clean layout, the parlay builder and the link to theScore app. Common complaints in reviews of US sportsbooks, theScore Bet included, are bet limits for consistent winners, withdrawal delays while verification is pending and promotions that vary by state.
Former ESPN Bet users have mostly had a smooth transfer, but some are disappointed that they cannot claim new-customer offers. Some reviewers also note that frequent rebrands make it harder to build trust in the US. App ratings are self-reported and unverified, so treat them as a guide to trends rather than proof.
How theScore Bet compares with other US sportsbooks
| Sportsbook | Main strength | Compared with theScore Bet |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | Deep live betting and the most-used US app | Wider markets and promotions; no media-app tie-in of the same kind |
| FanDuel | Player props and fast payouts | Sharper prop menu and larger footprint |
| BetMGM | MGM Rewards and online casino in more states | Stronger casino crossover |
| Fanatics | FanCash rewards on merchandise | Different loyalty angle, similar footprint |
| BetRivers | Simple loyalty scheme and boosts | Comparable size; stronger casino in some states |
| Bally Bet | Casino-group book for recreational bettors | Smaller footprint and lighter app |
In Ontario and Alberta, theScore Bet competes with the same US brands plus bet365 and Caesars. Our sportsbooks page ranks the full list, and the reviews index covers every brand we rate.
How to sign up and place your first bet
- Check that theScore Bet is licensed where you are located; you must be physically inside a supported state or province to bet.
- Download theScore Bet app or link it from theScore media app, then register with your legal name, date of birth and address.
- Complete identity verification and allow location access; desktop users may need the GeoComply plug-in.
- Set deposit, loss and time limits before your first deposit.
- Read the welcome offer for your state, then deposit at least $10 with a method you can also withdraw to.
- Place your first bet and, once settled, test a small withdrawal so you know how long payouts take.
Sources
- Wikipedia — theScore Bet
- CDC Gaming — ESPN Bet replaced with theScore Bet (December 2025)
- Yogonet — PENN secures Alberta approval for theScore Bet (April 2026)
- NEXT.io — PENN’s $20m Alberta bet and Q2 2026 results (August 2026)
- Action Network — theScore Bet review (October 2026)
- BettingUSA — theScore Bet review (October 2026)
- RotoWire — theScore Bet promo and states (October 2026)
- iGaming Ontario — regulated operators
- National Council on Problem Gambling — help and treatment
- ConnexOntario — support line
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