Penn Entertainment Announces Layoffs Industry

Layoffs Announced at Penn Entertainment’s Digital Unit

By Amelia Walker Senior Content Writer Updated: 03 August 2024

Amelia Walker Senior Content Writer

Amelia Walker is a Senior Content Writer at Betting.US. She has a law degree and deep knowledge of the gambling laws in the United States. Her mission is to keep players informed about responsible gambling, while her passion for sports helps her create useful guides. Amelia has over a decade of experience in betting, which has positioned her as a trusted voice among our readers.

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It has been announced that Penn Entertainment is getting geared up to make some layoffs at its digital unit.

The Penn Interactive arm includes its ESPN Bet online sports betting platform. No announcement was made with regard to the number of layoffs that will be made, and the announcement about the layoffs comes less than a year after the ESPN mobile app was launched.

The announcement was made in writing by the CEO of Penn, Jay Snowden, who sent out an email to staff. He outlined a number of reasons why the company had decided to lay people off and reduce numbers. Snowden also said that it would be difficult to see employees being affected in this way and that the company appreciated their hard work.

He said,

This week, we are implementing changes at PENN Interactive to help streamline reporting lines, enhance operational efficiencies, and leverage shared resources across PENN. Unfortunately, these changes will result in a limited number of team member separations.

He added that the company was committed to supporting affected employees to see them through the transition.

ESPN Struggling to Gain Market Share

While the CEO’s message did not refer specifically to layoffs at ESPN Bet, officials were quick to point out that the sports betting application has been struggling to gain a solid market share. While the app enjoyed some level of success when it was first launched, its market share has plummeted in just nine months.

When ESPN Bet was first launched, many hoped that it would fare better than its predecessor, Barstool Sportsbook.

According to data released by JMP Securities, ESPN Bet’s market share fell from 4.7 percent to 3.2 percent in the first quarter of this year. This equates to less than 10 percent of the market share that is controlled by sports betting giants, DraftKings and FanDuel.

Many investors have voiced criticism over some decisions made by Penn, and this includes its decision to pay Walt Disney $1.5 billion over the period of a decade as payment for the use of the ESPN brand.

New Phase of Growth

In his email to employees, Snowden spoke about a new phase of growth for the company, adding that these changes would help the company reach its growth goals. He said that change was never easy for people to go through, but that the company was focusing on digital growth and would add key talent to help advance this.

No further details have yet been released with regard to the number of layoffs or when the changes will take place.

In the meantime, it was revealed that Penn investor, Donerail Group, wrote to the company board urging a sale. This sparked rumors that Boyd Gaming might put in a bid for the rival operator, but doubts have arisen because some believe Boyd would be reluctant to pay $500 million for Penn Interactive.

Further rumors have surfaced suggesting that Flutter Entertainment could become involved in any deal. Flutter is the parent company of the hugely successful FanDuel and also has links with Boyd due to the operator having a 5 percent stake in FanDuel.