PENN Entertainment has laid off dozens of content, sales and other staff at Canadian sports media and gaming company theScore.

Canadian Gaming Business understands that more than 75 employees were told on Thursday that they were being let go. The layoffs have roughly cut the brand’s editorial newsroom in half and also impacted the sales team.

“These changes reflect the ongoing evolution of our digital business,” a company spokesperson told CGB on Friday. “Under the leadership of key recent product and technology hires, we are structured to advance our online strategy and efficiently grow our business.”

theScore has a long history as a sports media company and has increasingly leaned into sports betting and online casino gaming in recent years, since launching theScore Bet in New Jersey in 2019. Casino operator PENN acquired the company in October 2021 for around $2 billion USD and theScore Bet went live in the regulated Ontario market when the province launched commercial online gambling in April 2022.

theScore Bet offers both sports betting and online casino across Ontario, and the company recently launched a dedicated theScore Casino app specific to the online casino vertical.

The mass layoffs this week are the latest downsizing PENN Interactive has undertaken in the last 12 months. Last July, it laid off numerous workers including some at its U.S.-facing sportsbook, ESPN Bet, and it cut its workforce once again last September.

PENN Interactive operations in the spotlight

The layoffs come at a time when some PENN investors and external analysts have scrutinized the company’s digital operations, particularly as it struggles to secure solid market share for ESPN Bet in the U.S.

Last year, William Wyatt, managing director of the investor Donerail Group, criticized PENN’s interactive strategy as “misguided” and urged the company to consider selling some of its digital assets. He particularly zeroed in on theScore acquisition, calling it an expensive failure.

And this year, PENN’s decision to buy theScore was caught up in a war of words between the gaming operator and activist investor HG Vora. The shareholder company accused PENN CEO Jay Snowden and other company leaders of “value-destructive deal-making, reckless capital allocation and poor execution” in endeavours such as theScore in Ontario and ESPN Bet south of the border.

PENN leaders defended themselves by stating that the Interactive division has posted year-over-year growth, such as the $162 million USD of adjusted revenue in Q1 2025, which was up 78% year-over-year.

In contrast to ESPN Bet, which Snowden hinted earlier this year could be abandoned as a venture if things don’t improve, PENN leaders often speak glowingly of theScore’s status and progress in Canada. Snowden said in February that Ontario is PENN Interactive’s number-one market in North America in terms of revenues, gross profit and contribution margin. Although iGaming Ontario (iGO) does not break down Ontario market revenue figures by individual operator, PENN executives have suggested on past earnings calls that theScore Bet has a double-digit market share in the province.

PENN intends to launch theScore Bet in Alberta when that province starts letting commercial online gambling operators do business, touted to be early in 2026.