Rush Street Interactive (RSI) president and CFO Kyle Sauers has said the operator is prepared for both outcomes on the future of the 19% VAT on player deposits introduced in Colombia.
The tax was first introduced by Colombian president Gustavo Petro in February, with the government issuing a decree to keep the tax in place until 31 December 2025.
The Colombian government has also submitted a bill to Congress lobbying for the tax to become a permanent fixture, although the bill is yet to be approved.
In February, RSI released a statement saying it was mulling over cost cutting measures in Colombia as a result of the legislation.
The operator runs the RushBet brand in the market, as well as BetRivers and PlaySugarHouse in North America.
Speaking on the operator’s Q3 analyst call, Sauers attested that the company is well positioned should the VAT become permanent in 2026, and equally prepared should the tax be removed.
He said: “At either end of the spectrum of outcomes, it should be a better scenario for us next year. If you look at some of the numbers for the year, GGR is up a little less than 60% and net revenue is about flat. But that includes the first couple months of the year because the bonusing and the VAT didn’t go into place until late February.
“If you just looked at Q2 and Q3, GGR is up almost 65%, but net revenue is down almost 15%. It gives you a decent perspective on the headwind form the extra bonusing we’re doing along with the other large operators.
“Then you jump to 2026, the VAT going away is obviously going to have a very solid impact on our revenue growth given that we’ve seen GGR growing over 60%.
“At the other end of the possible outcomes, we think it’s likely that all the operators would decrease bonusing, which wouldn’t be great for GGR, but it should be better for us in net revenue and profitability. Then by the end of February, we’re lapping the bonusing we started doing because of the VAT tax. Both of those could be beneficial for us.”
RSI CEO Richard Schwartz expressed confidence that the VAT will not remain in place moving into 2026.
He added: “It’s a situation where the president’s tax reform does require congressional support, and we continue to feel that there is not sufficient support by Congress to pass that.
“If that doesn’t pass, then normal tax conditions should resume. That’s the state of things today, but November is going to be a very busy time in the political arena down there.
“The president remains unpopular and his party does. I certainly think that the current view is that the current tax reforms proposed will not be adopted.”
The financials
RSI reported revenue of $277.9m (£210.7m) for Q3 2025, a 19.7% year-on-year (YoY) increase, while adjusted EBITDA was up 54% YoY to $36m.
The number of total monthly active users (MAU) for RSI in the US and Canada were approximately 225,000, up 34% YoY, alongside a 46% YoY increase in online casino markets.
MAUs in Latam and Mexico were approximately 415,000, up 30% YoY.
The average revenue per monthly active user (ARPMAU) in the US and Canada was $365 during Q3, while ARPMAU in Latam was $27.
The post Rush Street Interactive CFO: Colombia VAT tax “could be beneficial for us” first appeared on EGR Intel.
Kyle Sauers says the operator is prepared for the Latam country’s 19% VAT on deposits to remain in place next year, as net profit skyrockets in Q3
The post Rush Street Interactive CFO: Colombia VAT tax “could be beneficial for us” first appeared on EGR Intel.