Rush Street Interactive (RSI) CEO Richard Schwartz has talked up the opportunity for online casino expansion in North America offered by the presence of prediction markets.
Speaking during a Q&A at the 21st annual Needham Technology, Media and Consumer Conference, Schwartz suggested that politicians’ fears over reduced tax take from sports betting operators could open the door for igaming legalisation.
Additionally, Schwartz said his business could continue to specialise online casino because prediction markets are causing competitors to focus on other areas.
Online casino is legal in just eight US states, with Maine becoming the most recent to approve a launch. Virginia came closest in the most recent legislative session, although efforts there eventually floundered.
Schwartz said: “As a casino-first operator we’re staying focused on what matters to us, which is the casino market space. The prediction market leaders recently said casino wasn’t something they were going to focus on.”
Competitors will have to spend resources on a prediction market offering or sports betting improvements, while RSI has no such pressures, according to its chief.
“As others are distracted and focusing on that part of their business and having to spend huge amounts of money and executive attention on it, we’re focusing on executing and innovating further in the casino-first space,” he added.
The CEO added that some states were moving to legalise online casino because of perceived lost sports betting tax revenue to the likes of Kalshi and Polymarket.
Sports betting operators have attested they are seeing little cannibalisation impact in existing sports betting states.
Schwartz said: “Frankly, it’s given us a great chance to legalise online casino in some jurisdictions that are at risk of losing, in their perception, some of the revenues from sports betting and having less certainty on the future of that revenue stream as a tax stream.
“It’s giving us a chance to go in there and say, ‘It’s a disruptive moment in time. Let’s try to legalise online casino at accelerated rates’.”
The comments echo those made by the CEOs of Flutter and DraftKings in recent months, with DK’s Jason Robins attesting that the growth of prediction markets may “motivate more states to legalise online sports betting and igaming”.
Leaders at RSI have reiterated their lack of appetite for the prediction markets vertical in the past few months.
Two weeks ago, the operator announced another set of record quarterly results, with a 41% jump in year-over-year (YOY) revenue to $370.4m and a net income surge of 134% to $26.2m.
As adjusted EBITDA increased 81% to $60.2m, the operator raised its full-year 2026 revenue and EBITDA guidances.
Shwartz added during the Q&A that RSI was growing “extremely fast” in Latin America, and that the company overall was seeing record lows in cost per acquisition and 50%+ online casino player growth for multiple consecutive quarters.
Last week, RSI announced an underwritten secondary public offering of 10 million shares of class A common stock.
The post RSI CEO: Prediction markets “distraction” among rivals is an opportunity for us first appeared on EGR Intel.
Richard Schwartz says online casino can be legalised “at an accelerated rate” as states look for ways to replace sports betting tax revenue potentially lost to prediction markets
The post RSI CEO: Prediction markets “distraction” among rivals is an opportunity for us first appeared on EGR Intel.