ESPN BET vs PrizePicks looks like a straightforward matchup of two gambling-adjacent apps until you check whether either name still means what it used to. It doesn’t, in ESPN BET’s case. PENN Entertainment retired the ESPN BET brand on December 1, 2025, after ending its ESPN trademark deal early, and the same sportsbook now runs as theScore Bet. PrizePicks never went anywhere — it has run continuously since 2015 — but it was also never a sportsbook, which is the part most people typing this comparison assume.
ESPN BET vs PrizePicks, side by side
| ESPN BET | PrizePicks | |
|---|---|---|
| Current status | Retired Dec. 1, 2025 — now theScore Bet | Live, operating continuously since 2015 |
| Product type | Sportsbook (wager against a house line) | Pick’em DFS (score projections, not a moneyline) |
| Operator | PENN Entertainment | SidePrize LLC (Allwyn majority stake, Sept. 2025) |
| Legal basis | State sportsbook licenses (unchanged after rename) | State DFS statutes/exemptions; NY interactive fantasy license, Oct. 2025 |
| Age gate | 21+ | 18+ most states; 19+ AL/CO; 21+ AZ/IL/MA |
Is ESPN BET Still Legal to Compare Here? Not Under That Name
There is no ESPN BET signup left to weigh against PrizePicks. The underlying sportsbook is legal and licensed in the same states it always was — it just answers to theScore Bet now. Any list still putting “ESPN BET” next to PrizePicks as two currently open options is working from outdated information. PrizePicks has no equivalent gap: it has kept its name and its product the entire time.
Is PrizePicks Legit Next to a Brand That Disappeared?
PrizePicks comes out of this comparison looking more stable simply by still existing under its own name. That is not the same as PrizePicks being “better” — ESPN BET’s closure was a marketing decision by PENN and ESPN, not evidence the sportsbook was unsafe or unlicensed. But a reader deciding where to put money down has to weigh a company that has run one continuous brand for a decade (PrizePicks, with a fresh New York license as of February 2026) against a sportsbook that has now changed its public name twice — Barstool Sportsbook, then ESPN BET, then theScore Bet — in under four years.
Different Products, Not Competing Ones
Even when ESPN BET existed, it and PrizePicks were not really substitutes. ESPN BET took a bet against a posted line on whether a team would cover or a game would go over. PrizePicks has you build a lineup of player (or team) projections and needs several to hit — no house line on the game itself, no moneyline. That difference is why a state can license one and not the other, or the reverse: Texas and California have run paid PrizePicks Player Picks without a legal sportsbook of any kind.
Don’t use one map to read the other. theScore Bet’s sportsbook footprint (the old ESPN BET states) and PrizePicks’ paid Player Picks map are built on completely different legal frameworks. A state carrying one says nothing about the other.
Who Each One Actually Fits
A reader who wants to bet a spread or parlay against a house line should look at theScore Bet where it is licensed — ESPN BET is not an option anymore, under any name. A reader who wants pick’em contests against player projections, and who can live with DFS rules instead of betting rules, is asking about PrizePicks — and should confirm which specific product (Player Picks, Team Picks, or free-to-play) is actually live and paid in their state before assuming “available in all 50 states” means what it sounds like. Neither is a way to make money; treat either as entertainment spending. 21+ where a sportsbook operates; 18+ or the state’s higher age gate for PrizePicks. Call 1-800-GAMBLER for help.