theScore Bet Review

theScore Bet Summary

Combining the impressive tech of its industry-leading sports app with its new sports betting product has given theScore Bet an enormous advantage – particularly among Ontario users who have been faithful to the brand since its Headline Sports days.

Navigating between the sports app and the betting site is easy, and the familiarity and simplicity of the sports betting offering will appeal greatly to players who aren't down with more cluttered interfaces. But theScore Bet has plenty of work to do to catch up to industry leaders FanDuel, BetMGM and DraftKings, even in its own backyard.

Here's my comprehensive breakdown of theScore Bet, which does well to endear itself to new users but might be a little too simple for more experienced players.

theScore Bet Quick Facts

theScore Bet Locations

TheScore Bet can only be found in Ontario, at least for the time being. The popular Canadian app launched its sports betting product in April 2022, just as Ontario officially allowed legal sports wagering.

If the the rest of Canada adopts official sports betting legislation, like Alberta seems poised to do in 2025, theScore Bet might well be among the first betting apps in those new regions too.

Sports Leagues to Bet On

You know what you're getting with a sports betting site built by a company that has excelled in the sports coverage space for decades. Here's a look at theScore Bet's offerings for the six most popular North American sports:

NFL Betting 🏈

There's no question that NFL betting reigns supreme, even in Canada. And Ontario bettors are well-served by theScore Bet, at least when it comes to the basic bet types. Moneylines, spreads and totals are available at a comparable time frame to the competition, though I would like to see theScore Bet offer more game and player props per NFL matchup.

NBA Betting 🏀

Ontario basketball aficionados have no shortage of NBA betting options at their disposal on theScore Bet. From a healthy selection of player and team futures opportunities prior to the season to dozens of available pre-game and in-game markets every night during the campaign, theScore provides a strong NBA betting menu for beginners and experts alike.

College Football 🏈

Ontario is surprisingly keen on NCAA football, and theScore Bet serves this audience decently with a stacked schedule every week during the season. And yet, while the majority of FBS games are covered in terms of spread, moneyline and totals offerings, players are left wanting when it comes to the availability of props markets and "specials" wagers.

College Basketball 🏀

I could probably just cut and paste most of the above text into this NCAA basketball section. TheScore Bet delivers an adequate nightly schedule during the regular season before ramping up its markets for the conference championships and March Madness. Again, I can't help but wonder why theScore Bet doesn't provide more secondary NCAA hoops markets.

NHL Betting 🏒

If you're an Ontario-based sports betting app, you had better nail NHL betting – and while theScore Bet doesn't quite stick the landing here, it's in the top half of sportsbooks in the province. In addition to a standard selection of team and player props across most games, theScore Bet provides a steady diet of nightly boosts around player and team performances.

MLB Betting ⚾

Summers in Ontario can be quite lovely – and sports fans who are into MLB betting would agree. The message is the same here in terms of what you can expect with theScore Bet: standard wager types are all covered, team and player props are present but in lower abundance than most of the high-end competition. As an official betting partner of the Toronto Blue Jays, theScoreBet treats all players to regular bonuses and promos related to Canada's sole MLB franchise. 

Other Sports Leagues ⚽

Narrow focus appears to be a theme with this sports betting app – and that can be a positive or a negative depending on your betting market interests.

By providing a much smaller menu of sport types than its competitors, theScore Bet can focus more heavily on promoting the marquee North American markets but has little appeal to those who like a little more international flair to their betting experience.

In addition to the sports and leagues listed above, theScore Bet provides odds markets for international baseball, basketball and hockey; golf; MMA; motorsports; soccer; and tennis. Again, this menu isn't nearly as expansive as competitor sites like Sports Interaction or Caesars, but that might not matter to bettors who only focus on those marquee sports.

Online Betting Experience 

No frills. That's what you're getting with theScore Bet, for better or worse.

On one hand, the mobile experience is solid if unspectacular, providing users with a simple path to building single bets and parlays and easy access to their sport of choice. On the other hand... well, let's just get into that next.

Website Experience 💻

TheScore Bet launched their desktop version of its sports betting and casino product in mid-March of 2023. After taking a different approach and allowing users to access theScore Bet via app only, users in Ontario can finally access the sportsbook on their desktop or laptop computers.

Mobile Betting and Betting App 📱

Born as a sports media and news provider, theScore brings a tremendous amount of previous experience in the app development landscape. That experience shows in theScore Bet sports betting app, which boasts pregame and in-play markets, early cash-outs, lightning-fast scores, live odds movement, etc.

You get more insight than your average sportsbook app with theScore as it’s integrated with theScore’s news and scores app, helping you navigate between media and betting. You can sync your favorite teams and build a bet slip while browsing articles, looking at stats and standings, and other significant portions of the new app.

There are, however, a couple of issues here. The first is that the markets take up more space here than on other sports betting apps, which can be a real pain if you're searching for a specific market in a league with dozens of available matchups. There's also the size of the Betslip, which takes up half the screen when you first select a bet (and forces you to exit out of it before you can add another game to your card).

Live Betting 📺

TheScore Bet is built on a proprietary technology stack, giving the sports betting app a unique and compelling product offering. This was an essential component that Penn National Gaming valued in their recent acquisition of the company.

This flexibility gives theScore Bet a high-quality live betting platform. It all once again ties into the background they have in news and media. They know this business well, and being an online sportsbook provider is just a complement to their media empire.

And yet, you would think that, with such a strong in-play wagering platform, theScore Bet would be flush with live betting options. And this is simply not the case. Not only are you limited at the number of live betting events you have access to, you don't get nearly the same number of in-game opportunities per event that you do with competitors like FanDuel or bet365.

Casino, Poker, & Other Gaming Options 🎰

It's nice that theScore Bet has a casino presence, but don't expect the same volume of options here as you get with other marquee Ontario sports betting sites. This is particularly true when it comes to slot machines, with theScore Bet offering just 61 different games; that said, the bet limit range on these slots is quite vast, thereby maximizing their appeal.

You'll find a healthy number of live games options here, with a wide variety of blackjack, roulette and baccarat tables in addition to Deal or No Deal, Monopoly Live, craps, and something called "Crazy Coin Flip". Some of theScore Bet's table games carry limits of $5,000 to $10,000, so there's at least something here for the high roller set.

theScore Bet History

Based in Toronto, theScore operates of the most popular sports apps in Canada.

The company was founded in 1994 when it was launched as a broadcast network, Sportscope (which operated the cable station Headline Sports, later renamed theScore). TheScore Media app launched and began providing sports news in 2005.

TheScore Television Network was purchased in 2012 by Rogers Communications, but digital media assets such as theScore app were not part of the deal.

TheScore secured a multi-state market access agreement with Penn National Gaming in the summer of 2019, shortly before launching theScore Bet in New Jersey. In August 2021, Penn National acquired theScore in a $2 billion deal.

After struggling to gain a foothold in the crowded U.S. market, theScore Bet and its parent company, Penn National Gaming, announced that theScore Bet will stop accepting wagers in the U.S. on June 15th, 2022, and shut down all U.S. operations effective July 1, 2022.

Its exit from the states reinforces theScore's focus on making its mark in Ontario and other provinces that will surely make the switch to a locally-regulated market soon.

Customer Ratings & Reputation 🏆

You would be hard-pressed to find a more revered sports app in Canada than theScore – so it makes sense that the company has opted to focus its attention north of the border, where its significant brand capital will come in handy with Canadian sports bettors.

Indeed, theScore Bet is pulling an incredible 4.7 rating out of 5 on the App Store based on more than 23,000 reviews. The sports betting app is also performing well on Google Play, with a score of 4.2 based on just over 2,400 reviews.

Aside from the usual sports betting consumer complaints regarding slow payout speeds and ID verification issues, the most common issue reviewers have with theScore Bet concern a lack of betting markets or props compared with key Ontario competitors. TheScore Bet is expected to bolster its offering here, but there's no timetable for this.

Customer Service 📞

TheScore Bet offers a variety of help methods, though you might have difficulty accessing these if you're a new user. You need to click the the small button in the top right corner of the app to access "My Account", which allows you to then get to the Help section.

Once there, you'll find a variety of options based on your contact type of choice. Customer service representatives are available 24/7 via live chat or phone, and you also have the option of reaching out via email (though you won't receive a response quite as quickly).

One solid indicator of attention to customer care provided by theScore Bet is that you get unique responses from customer service representatives if you have a negative experience instead of automated responses from a bot sending you to an email like most sportsbooks.

theScore Bet Contact 📧

• Live Chat: Available 24/7
• Phone: 1 (855) 550-1238
• Email: support@thescore.bet
• Detailed Help section

theScore Bet Legal Betting 

TheScore Bet is regulated in Ontario by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and iGaming Ontario.

Responsible Gambling

Here's a list of recommended responsible gambling resources available to theScore Bet players:

• ResponsibleGambling.org: The Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) is a respected, independent non-profit organization. They have been a leader in preventing problem gambling in Canada and globally for more than 35 years. Operators in Ontario are required to register with RGC to operate in the province.
• ConnexOntario: ConnexOntario provides service information for people experiencing problems with gambling, drugs, alcohol, or mental health. Helpful, supportive system navigation specialists answer all calls, emails, or web chat requests 24/7. Call 1-866-531-2600 for more info.
• BeGambleAware.org: offers free, confidential help and support to anyone worried about gambling for themselves or others.
• Gambling Therapy: a global service provided by Gordon Moody offering free emotional support and advice to anyone affected by gambling.

Why Choose theScore Bet?

Most of what makes theScore's sports app the most popular in Canada is present with theScore Bet. The interface is delightfully simple to use, and the integration of the company's in-house tech results in quick updates and a smooth transition between apps.

Still, it's clear that theScore Bet has some work to do to reach the level of its top competition in terms of overall sportsbook experience. Adding more sports and prop betting options is an absolute must here – and while more people use apps than desktop, not having any web version to speak of is a major strike against.

I'm confident that theScore Bet will address its most glaring issues in time – and combined with what is already an outstanding product, we could see this app make a serious dent in the market share of the big-name sportsbooks in Ontario and the rest of Canada (when the time comes).