PENN announces interactive unit leadership transition as Levy brothers exit the company

PENN Entertainment has announced a leadership transition at its interactive unit, scheduled for April. The founding family behind theScore – John Levy, Benjie Levy, Aubrey Levy and Noah Levy – are set to step down from their roles at Penn Interactive following the rollout of ESPN BET and theScore Bet, and an in-house migration.

“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 Jay Snowden, CEO and President of PENN Entertainment. 

“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,” added Snowden.

John Levy will be departing in mid-February, while Benjie, Aubrey and Noah will depart in April. In conjunction with the leadership transition, the company is in “the final stages” of a search for a new Head of Interactive, according to a press release.

Benjie Levy, Head of PENN Interactive and President and Chief Operating Officer of theScore, commented: "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. 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.”

PENN acquired Score Media and Gaming (theScore) in October 2021 and integrated theScore with its PENN Interactive unit under the leadership of Benjie Levy as Head of Interactive, with John Levy assuming the role of Executive Chairman of theScore. The brand proved particularly successful in Ontario, where it ranks among the province’s most popular choices.

Levy was at the helm when PENN brought the tech stack from theScore over to Barstool Sportsbook, bringing the platform fully in-house. He also led the team through the sale of Barstool Sports back to David Portnoy for $1 and brokering a more than $1 billion deal with ESPN.

As the company works on bringing in a new Head of Interactive to replace Levy, the new hire will be tasked with growing the recently acquired ESPN Bet brand. PENN has high expectations for this endeavor, having previously stated a long-term goal of a 20% market share.

“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.”