Search “ESPN BET vs FanDuel” today and you’re asking about a company that stopped using that name in December 2025. This isn’t a case of one sportsbook simply being smaller or newer than the other — one half of the comparison legally doesn’t exist anymore. Here’s what actually changed, and what the comparison looks like now that it’s honestly theScore Bet vs FanDuel.
Why “ESPN BET” Isn’t a Live Option Anymore
PENN Entertainment launched ESPN BET in November 2023 under a roughly $1.5–2 billion, 10-year trademark license with ESPN, rebranding its existing Barstool Sportsbook product. PENN and ESPN mutually agreed to end that deal early, and PENN retired the ESPN BET name on December 1, 2025 in favor of theScore Bet, built on PENN’s Canadian theScore media brand. The operator, state licenses, and account base carried over unchanged — only the name and the ESPN app integrations went away. Reporting around the split pointed to ESPN BET never cracking the top three US sportsbooks by market share as the reason the two sides walked away early.
If you had an ESPN BET account: it moved automatically to theScore Bet — same login, same balance, same pending bets, no re-registration. There is no ESPN BET welcome bonus to compare against FanDuel’s; any page still advertising one is stale.
Is FanDuel Legit Against What theScore Bet Actually Is Now?
Both sides of this comparison are legitimate, licensed operators — the question was never fraud, it’s footprint and ownership. FanDuel became a wholly owned Flutter Entertainment subsidiary in 2025 after Flutter bought out Boyd Gaming’s last 5% stake for about $1.76 billion, and its sportsbook is live in 24 states plus Washington D.C. as of September 2026. theScore Bet is PENN Entertainment’s product, live in roughly 20 states concentrated in the Midwest and Northeast — a smaller map than FanDuel’s, and smaller than the map ESPN BET marketed under the ESPN name.
theScore Bet (formerly ESPN BET) vs FanDuel
| theScore Bet (ex-ESPN BET) | FanDuel | |
|---|---|---|
| Operator | PENN Entertainment | Flutter Entertainment (100% owner, 2025) |
| Sportsbook footprint | ~20 states (Sep 2026) | 24 states + D.C. (Sep 2026) |
| Casino brand/states | Hollywood Casino — MI, NJ, PA, WV | FanDuel Casino — CT, MI, NJ, PA, WV, plus Ontario |
| Canada | Ontario, plus Alberta (Jul 13, 2026) | Ontario only |
| Name history | Barstool Sportsbook → ESPN BET (2023) → theScore Bet (Dec 1, 2025) | FanDuel since 2009 (DFS), sportsbook since 2018 |
Which One Is Safe If Your State Only Has One of Them
Neither brand’s size matters if your state hasn’t licensed it. Check the specific state list for whichever product is actually available before reading anything else on this page as an endorsement. A reader in a state where only FanDuel is live gets an honest FanDuel-only page; a reader where only theScore Bet operates should look for that name, not a defunct ESPN BET signup that no longer exists.
Who This Comparison Is Actually For
Mostly people who had an ESPN BET account and want to know whether switching to FanDuel makes sense now that the ESPN name is gone. The honest answer: your existing theScore Bet account already carries your history and balance, so switching isn’t required — it’s a preference call between PENN’s narrower map and FanDuel’s wider one, not a legitimacy question. Gambling stays entertainment spending either way, never income. 21+ where legal; call 1-800-GAMBLER for help.