Brief History of theScore and PENN
Long before sportsbooks became mainstream, theScore was one of the country’s defining sports media brands. Founded by John Levy, the company evolved from a cable television sports network into a digital sports media powerhouse before betting legalization opened a new frontier.
In 2021, PENN acquired Score Media and Gaming in a roughly US$2 billion deal, betting heavily on theScore’s technology stack, Canadian engineering talent and integrated media-to-betting model. At the time, the transaction was framed as a growth play that would expand Toronto operations and strengthen PENN’s North American ambitions.
The Levy family stepped away from leadership roles in 2024 following the rollout of ESPN BET and PENN’s in-house platform migration. Since then, PENN’s Canadian business has faced repeated restructuring.
Response to the mass layoffs
Around this time last year, roughly 75 positions were cut from the Toronto operation, followed months later by significant reductions across theScore’s esports division. Now, another reported round of 75-plus layoffs has hit amid a broader industry push toward profitability. PENN has not publicly confirmed the number. Gaming News Canada reported that attempts to verify the total were complicated because communications personnel were themselves among those losing jobs.
John Levy has been blunt about the pattern. “They’ve cut, cut and cut because they promised profitability,” Levy told Gaming News Canada earlier this month. “If you’re cutting everything, what’s your future?”
That question hangs over more than one company.
Gambling.com Group, owner of OddsJam, OpticOdds and RotoWire, recently disclosed that expanding use of AI is driving a workforce reduction expected to remove about a quarter of staff. The company framed the move as an efficiency play. But the announcement lands at a moment when gambling, sports media and technology businesses are all wrestling with the same equation: investors want margins, automation is accelerating, and the easy-growth phase of digital betting may be fading.
What does this mean for the future of the industry
For workers in Canada’s gaming ecosystem, the implications are immediate. Toronto became a magnet for sportsbook talent after Ontario opened its regulated market in 2022. Product managers, traders, engineers, marketers, compliance specialists and media professionals followed operators into a rapidly expanding sector. Repeated cuts now raise questions about how durable that employment engine really is.
IGT announced plans this year to cut roughly 700 jobs globally after its Everi merger. Ubisoft shut down its Halifax studio, eliminating 71 positions. Even leadership turnover at major industry players has intensified, including recent executive changes at FanDuel parent Flutter Entertainment.
That does not mean Canada’s gaming market is in decline. Ontario remains one of North America’s most closely watched regulated jurisdictions, and Alberta’s launch could create new hiring opportunities, especially for companies expanding west. Responsible gaming tools, compliance systems and market infrastructure continue to mature.
Still, the mood has changed.
The early years of regulated betting in Canada were dominated by expansion narratives: market access, customer acquisition, platform launches and billion-dollar ambitions. The conversation entering this week’s summit sounds more like a mature industry confronting its next phase, where profitability targets, AI adoption, consolidation pressures and operational discipline matter as much as headline growth.
For players, the short-term impact may be subtle. Sportsbooks will keep operating, sports betting promotions will keep coming and Alberta’s opening remains on schedule. For the industry itself, however, the recent layoffs may represent something more consequential: proof that Canada’s online gambling market is no longer just a boom story. It is becoming a business that looks increasingly like the broader tech and media sectors around it, complete with scale, competition, automation and painful recalibrations.
