When Penn Entertainment acquired TheScore in 2021 the company got both an established sports media company and a family full of experienced talent to work in the company’s interactive division in the Levys.
Benjie Levy leaving Penn Interactive in April
Benjie Levy took over as the head of Penn Interactive in 2022 following the departure of Jonathan Kaplowitz. Now, Levy will be stepping down in April alongside Noah and Aubrey Levy.
“This transition plan comes at a natural inflection point, with the migration to our proprietary technology platform complete, theScore’s media and betting business delivering record results, and ESPN Bet off to a strong start,” said Penn Entertainment CEO Jay Snowden. “The Levys are a family of successful entrepreneurs and are truly pioneers in the sports media and gaming industry. I am very proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish with them, including the development of an extremely deep and talented bench at PENN Interactive. With this experienced, best-in-class team firmly in place, we are well prepared for this to be a seamless transition and to continue growing our position as a leader in online gaming and sports media.”
“Working at Penn has been extremely rewarding and we want to thank Jay, Todd, George and the entire Penn team for their partnership and support as we brought these two organizations together to execute on our uniquely integrated media and betting strategy. Our focus on creating industry-leading technology and products has been second only to our efforts in building a world-class team and fostering a special place to work,” added Benjie Levy. “We could not be more proud of this team and what we have accomplished together, and we look forward to watching as they continue to build upon the successful foundation we established at theScore.”
Levy was at the helm for a number of milestones in Penn Interactive’s history. He helped bring the tech stack from theScore over to Barstool Sportsbook and bring the platform full in-house. He also lead the team through the sale of Barstool Sports back to David Portnoy for $1 and brokering a more than $1 billion deal with ESPN.
The company is currently conducting a search to bring in a new Head of Interactive to replace Levy. The new hire will continue to grow the ESPN Bet brand. Snowden and others have lofty expectations for the partnership and have stated a long-term goal of 20% market share.
John Levy departing theScore in February
John Levy, who currently serves as the Executive Chairman of theScore, will be leaving in February. Since launching in April 2022, theScore Bet has been said to be one of the more popular betting apps in Ontario. Additionally, the continued success of theScore media side has been a steady presence in a rather tumultuous time for the rest of the organization.
“The enduring success of theScore is due to the passionate and committed team that helped launch, develop and innovate our products to provide the best possible fan experience,” said John Levy, Executive Chairman of theScore. “Empowering fans with a seamlessly integrated media and betting experience has been core to our mission since day one. That strategy has led to the success of theScore and theScore Bet in Ontario and ESPN Bet in the U.S. and will continue to differentiate this online gaming business going forward.”
