Rush Street CEO: Alberta A 'Significant' ICasino, Sports Betting Opportunity

Rush Street Interactive Inc. is keen to bring its "casino-first" method to Alberta, and BetRivers' moms and dad business believes it might get that opportunity even previously than it previously anticipated.


- Rush Street Interactive thinks Alberta might introduce a regulated online sports wagering and iCasino market by the end of June, developing a significant new opportunity for its BetRivers brand name.


- Alberta regulators are developing a competitive structure that will expand beyond Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission's Play Alberta to consist of personal operators such as BetRivers, PointsBet, and DraftKings.


- RSI is particularly optimistic about the iCasino sector, mentioning its successful track record in other North American markets and strong performance in Ontario as factors for confidence.


Richard Schwartz, CEO of the online gambling business, said Tuesday that Alberta's work on a competitive iGaming market "is advancing towards a launch timeline that could take place in the coming quarters, earlier than we were preparing for throughout our last profits call."


"This represents a substantial opportunity for us to leverage our success in other North American online casino markets, especially given our strong efficiency in Ontario and our recognized and growing brand name acknowledgment throughout Canada," Schwartz said.


The RSI CEO added more specifics during the question-and-answer period of the business's newest earnings call, stating that the Alberta sports betting and iCasino launch might happen around the end of June.


"We're confident, and it appears like the regulators there are moving at a really determined rate," Schwartz said on Tuesday. "It looks like a Q2 opportunity is within the possibility towards completion of that quarter."


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The highlight the really real possibility that Alberta will enable private-sector iGaming operators to launch in its regulated market well before the next NFL season rolls around.


Alberta regulators are hard at work on the new regulatory framework, which will bring the variety of authorized iGaming operators in the Western Canadian province from one, the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission's Play Alberta, to ideally numerous.


BetRivers will be one of those operators, and it has actually currently started signing up consumers ahead of launch day. Other notable brand names plan to go live with online sports betting and iCasino in the province as well, such as DraftKings.


DraftKings feels quite certain that the launch of its online sportsbook/casino in Alberta is "around the corner," and is forecasting its financials accordingly: https://t.co/1R5ZCywuHk @Covers


Chicago-based RSI is particularly enthused about a somewhat underdiscussed element of Alberta's new iGaming market, which is that it will enable operators to use both online sports wagering and online casino gaming.


The iCasino side of the iGaming market is a huge selling point for Alberta, and specifically so for a "casino-first" brand name like BetRivers. Alberta is also following the example of Ontario for its iGaming market. There, the bulk of wagering and earnings originates from online gambling establishment gambling, including the items offered by RSI's BetRivers, which is a certified operator in the province.


For example, Ontario reported almost $8.3 billion in cash wagers through its regulated online gambling establishments this previous December, compared to about $1.1 billion for its mobile sportsbooks.


Kyle Sauers, president and primary monetary officer for RSI, said the business's share of the online gambling establishment market in Ontario "is sort of mid- to low-single digits," while its online sports betting share is a "bit lower."


"The other thing I would simply mention, and we have actually discussed this previously, but every North American online casino market that we have actually released in, we've been rewarding by the fourth quarter of operations," Sauers included. "And we don't see a reason that that must be different with Alberta.