PENN Entertainment is rebranding its retail sportsbooks in Pennsylvania to include ESPN BET signage, the company told PlayPennsylvania on Thursday. Since ending its partnership with Barstool Sports, PENN Entertainment’s retail sportsbooks displayed its Hollywood brand. Now, however, they will get an update to reflect the new partnership with ESPN and resulting ESPN BET sportsbook app.
This is the second large wave of rebrands PENN Entertainment has undergone since teaming up with ESPN. In addition to Pennsylvania, Hollywood and Ameristar properties across Colorado, Ohio, Iowa, Indiana, and West Virginia each are getting a facelift in this round.
ESPN BET has shown some life in the online sports betting market in Pennsylvania. This commitment shows that PENN Entertainment is staying the course with ESPN.
The gambling company has been busy as of late on the online casino side of things, too. It launched a new Hollywood app in Pennsylvania last month, which was earlier than expected.
Three Hollywood Casinos to rebrand sportsbook to ESPN BET
A total of 10 of PENN Entertainment’s properties have announced rebranding plans. Three of which are in the Keystone State, which include:
- Penn National Race Course
- The Meadows
- York
Hollywood’s Morgantown location was not mentioned in the press release. PENN Entertainment has not responded to PlayPennsylvania‘s request for comment on the reason why.
Seven other locations were included in this latest round of rebrands. Those are:
- Ameristar Casino Hotel Council Bluffs (IA)
- Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway (OH)
- Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course (OH)
- Ameristar Casino Resort Spa Black Hawk (CO)
- Hollywood Casino and Hotel Lawrenceburg (IN)
- Ameristar Casino East Chicago (IN)
- Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races (WV)
There are now 19 PENN Entertainment properties across the country with ESPN branding inside the sportsbooks. Hollywood Casino at Greektown in Detroit became the first establishment to undergo the rebrand just before the city hosted the NFL Draft last April. PENN Entertainment has continued those efforts elsewhere.
PENN Entertainment goes live with Hollywood online casino last month
Jay Snowden, PENN Entertainment CEO, announced during a Q3 2024 earnings call in November that the company would launch a new Hollywood Casino app in Pennsylvania at the beginning of 2025. After getting regulatory approval from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), Snowden decided to launch the platform last month.
The app came with more than 700 total games, with 600 of them being slots. Hollywood Casino also offers table games and live dealer games.
Aaron LaBerge, PENN’s Chief Technology Officer, told PlayPennsylvania last month:
“With four Hollywood Casino properties in the state, the app leverages our trusted retail brand and creates a seamless connection between our online and retail gaming experiences.”
That is in line with what Snowden said last November. PENN Entertainment did not have consistency with its brands, he said:
“What we’re doing right now is messy, because you’re marketing to your land-based casino database at Hollywood properties, and telling them that they should download the ESPN bet app to play their favorite slot machine.”
PENN Entertainment is gaining consistency in both verticals of gambling. The company is committed to each brand, whether it be Hollywood for iGaming or ESPN BET for sports betting. It’ll be interesting to see how it moves forward in 2025.
