PENN Entertainment’s theScore Bet has entered a multiyear Canadian partnership with the National Football League, giving the operator rights to use NFL trademarks and an official NFL Partner designation for sportsbook and iGaming.
Sports Betting Dime reported on Oct. 2 that the agreement covers theScore Bet’s marketing rights and allows campaigns and fan experiences around NFL Kickoff, the NFL Draft and the Super Bowl. It also provides access to NFL marketing, advertising and hospitality assets, as well as promotional inventory exchanges across NFL and theScore digital channels.
The arrangement extends across PENN’s Canadian online portfolio: theScore Bet, theScore Casino and Hollywood Casino. NFL branding may be used on the company’s online gambling platforms in Ontario and Alberta, where theScore Bet is live.
PENN also gains access to NFL Canada digital-media and database-marketing opportunities. The companies said theScore Bet will follow the league’s core game-integrity policies and responsible-gaming initiatives, with NFL-related content to be delivered under the league’s integrity standards.
The deal follows theScore Bet’s entry into Alberta, which joined Ontario as Canada’s second regulated online gambling market after opening online casinos and sportsbooks in July. TheScore Bet had been live in Ontario since April 2022, operating under an agreement with iGaming Ontario and regulation by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
As reported in July, theScore Bet also signed a separate multiyear partnership with the Canadian Football League, becoming its official authorized gaming operator and sports-betting and online-casino partner in Ontario and Alberta.
The NFL agreement is theScore Bet’s second professional-football gaming partnership announced since July. Justin Hergianto, PENN Interactive’s vice-president of marketing, said the company could combine theScore’s reach among millions of Canadian sports fans with betting products and NFL experiences that matter to fans.
The agreement arrives as PENN prioritizes standalone online-casino growth after ending its ESPN Bet partnership with Disney the previous year. Chief Executive Jay Snowden said the company’s early Alberta handle results were encouraging despite a slow sports calendar, and that PENN aimed to reach market shares similar to those it holds in Ontario.
