Rush Street Interactive (RSI) CEO Richard Schwartz has said the operator is monitoring the prediction markets space but has reiterated there is currently no “need or a passion” to offer the vertical.
Schwartz’s comments during the 28th Annual ICR Conference in Orlando, Florida, came days after president and CFO Kyle Sauers claimed event contracts were “distracting” RSI’s rivals from online casino.
In the last few months, DraftKings, FanDuel, PrizePicks and Fanatics have all added prediction markets to their offerings.
Last October, Schwartz said the operator would not be offering prediction markets and has since doubled down on that claim, adding that the firm is monitoring what rivals and regulators do.
He said: “We’re always monitoring it. We certainly have been following it from the very beginning. We are aware of every company in the space, every deal that was done, were things that we had looked at and considered.
“Where we are at this moment in time, we are watching and monitoring the response from the state regulators. We’re watching the response from the court outcomes.
“And as I said, if we were to do something, certainly it would be very thoughtful and after taking a lot of factors into consideration.
“We certainly don’t have a need or a passion to go drive a national sports market predictions product with our brands.”
Schwartz also argued the continued growth of the vertical, which includes Kalshi and Robinhood as major players, could see an “acceleration” in online sports betting and igaming legalisation across the US.
He added: “I do think [prediction markets are] going to shield casino revenues and lead to an acceleration of icasino legalisation.
“You did see a couple of bills coming forward relatively recently and so that would be a welcome development for us.”
In the courts
Schwartz referenced the joint letter from the American Gaming Association (AGA) and Indian Gaming Association (IGA) that landed this week, calling on the US Congress to put a stop to prediction markets.
The AGA’s stance on event contracts has been critical, leading to FanDuel, Fanatics and DraftKings cancelling their memberships ahead of launching prediction markets.
Commenting on the letter, Schwartz said he believed the fate of prediction markets will be left for the courts to decide.
He remarked: “Just this Monday, we had a letter. I’ve never really seen a public statement combining the American Gaming Association representing the commercial interests of casino groups and the tribal organisation running a joint letter, essentially urging Congress to act.
“The regulators have a role to play as a stakeholder. The courts are going to have lots of outcomes across the states. Eventually we’ll get to the circuit courts and I think the Supreme Court.
“Congress could have a role to play here as well in clarifying the intents of the CFTC’s legislation enabling this type of category.
“You’re going to have a lot of these stakeholders trying to impose limits. For us, ultimately, I think the reaction is going to be legislation happens sooner for our categories because states are at risk of losing those very significant tax flows from state taxes, especially if over time you grow this in a category where it eventually diminishes sports, which we haven’t seen but there’s certainly pressure.”
The post Rush Street Interactive has no need to offer prediction markets, says CEO first appeared on EGR Intel.
Richard Schwartz reiterates his stance from last October, but does clarify the BetRivers parent is monitoring the response of operators and regulators
The post Rush Street Interactive has no need to offer prediction markets, says CEO first appeared on EGR Intel.