ESPN BET vs Stake.com reads like a straightforward sportsbook-versus- casino matchup until a reader actually tries to sign up for either one. ESPN BET doesn’t take new signups under that name anymore — PENN Entertainment retired the ESPN trademark license on December 1, 2025 and renamed the product theScore Bet. Stake.com never took US signups in the first place; it’s a Curaçao- licensed crypto casino that has blocked American players since it launched in 2017. Same dead end for a US reader, two entirely different reasons for it.
ESPN BET vs Stake.com, side by side
| ESPN BET | Stake.com | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Renamed theScore Bet, Dec 1, 2025 | Still operating under its own name |
| Operator | PENN Entertainment | Medium Rare N.V. |
| License | US state gaming licenses (unchanged by the rename) | Curaçao Gaming Authority |
| US access | Same state footprint as before, under the new name | Blocked outright since 2017 |
| Product | Sportsbook only | Casino, sportsbook, thousands of in-house games |
| Reported scale | Never top-three US sportsbook by market share | ~$4.7B reported 2024 revenue |
Is ESPN BET or Stake.com Legal Right Now?
Legally, ESPN BET never actually stopped operating — it changed its name. PENN Entertainment’s state gaming licenses carried straight through the rename to theScore Bet, so the legal question for an old ESPN BET user is really “where did my account go,” not “is this still allowed.” Stake.com is a different situation entirely: it isn’t operating in a legal gray zone for Americans so much as absent from the option list. It has blocked US sign-ups since 2017, so there’s no account for a US reader to weigh the legality of.
Two different kinds of “gone.” ESPN BET is gone as a brand name but fully intact as a business — same operator, same licenses, same accounts, new sign on the door. Stake.com was never available to a US player to begin with, so there’s nothing that changed for American readers at all.
Is ESPN BET or Stake.com More Legit?
Both are real, functioning businesses. ESPN BET’s legitimacy was never the issue — it operated under PENN Entertainment’s existing state licenses for two years and those licenses simply continue under theScore Bet. Stake.com’s legitimacy case rests on scale: nine years of continuous operation and a reported $4.7 billion in 2024 revenue, with founders Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani prominent enough that Craven co-owns the Sauber Formula One team. But that scale sits behind a single Curaçao Gaming Authority license — a lighter tier of oversight than the state gaming commissions that back a PENN Entertainment brand — and Stake gave up a stricter UK Gambling Commission license in 2025 rather than keep it.
How Safe Is Either One for a US Reader?
For ESPN BET’s former users, the safety story is about continuity: funds, wager history, and responsible-gambling limits all moved automatically to theScore Bet under the same operating license and state oversight. For Stake.com, safety isn’t really the question a US reader needs answered, because the account doesn’t exist to secure — the platform enforces its US block at signup, before any deposit or withdrawal question comes up.
Which One for Who
A reader trying to recover an old ESPN BET login should look for theScore Bet — same operator, same license, same balance, different name on the app. A reader curious about Stake.com because of its size or its crypto-casino reputation should know upfront that there is no US path onto the platform; Stake’s own Stake.us sweepstakes site or an offshore operator like Bovada that actually accepts American sign-ups are the realistic alternatives. Neither brand is presented here as a way to make money — treat both as entertainment spending, or not at all. 21+ where legal; call 1-800-GAMBLER for help.