RSI CEO on Casino-First Growth, Market Expansion

Key takeaways - RSI posted Q1 2026 revenue of $370.4 million, a new quarterly record, up 41% year-on-year

• Online casino is RSI's leading vertical, with users showing higher engagement and retention compared to sports bettors
• RSI plans a measured July 2026 launch in Alberta, Canada and eyes Virginia as a potential US expansion target, while Latin America offers both opportunity and regulatory hurdles

Rush Street Interactive posts record Q1 2026 revenue Rush Street Interactive (RSI) reported its highest quarterly revenue ever for Q1 2026, hitting $370.4 million.

That's a 41% jump from the same period last year. The company's earnings release, shared with investors on May 5, 2026, pointed to strength in the iGaming vertical as the primary driver. Online casino isn't just RSI's biggest segment. It's the one that keeps players coming back.

CEO Richard Schwartz put it plainly in the earnings call: > "Casino users log in more often, spend more time playing, and stick around longer." That behavioral difference matters. Casino users typically generate higher lifetime value than sports wagering customers, who often dip in and out seasonally. RSI's strategy leans hard into this advantage.

Casino-first strategy driving record growth

Why casino beats sports for RSI RSI's emphasis on casino over sports is deliberate.

The numbers back it up. According to the company's investor presentation, the casino vertical delivered the bulk of revenue growth in Q1 2026. The company isn't abandoning sports wagering entirely (get this: it still operates regulated sportsbooks in several states). But the resource allocation favors casino.

That's a different path from operators like DraftKings or FanDuel, where sports drives acquisition.

Lower churn, better unit economics CFO Kyle Sauers indicated this lower reliance on sports helps RSI avoid the churn spikes that follow major sporting events.

Combine that with strong new player acquisition and improving marketing spend efficiency, and the engine looks primed for continued growth.

Expansion plans: Alberta, Virginia, Latin America RSI is rolling out new market entries with a disciplined approach, something industry watchers will find notable given the capital-intensive nature of market expansion.

Alberta: July 2026 target Alberta launch scheduled for July 2026. The province will "mirror the early dynamics seen in Ontario," per Schwartz.

Ontario launched Canada's regulated iGaming market in April 2022 and quickly became a hotly competitive but lucrative territory. Alberta is smaller but carries similar demographic characteristics. RSI licensed in Alberta and targeting a July go-live. (Ontario operators have reported strong ongoing player engagement, so the Alberta comparison isn't a flimsy one.) > "I think this is a chance for us to really capture a large amount of interest from bettors in these markets.", Richard Schwartz on LatAm expansion

Virginia: positioned but waiting Virginia is a potential US expansion target. Schwartz identified the state as appealing due to its large population, RSI's existing partnership with a land-based casino operator there, and good brand awareness.

Virginia doesn't yet have a fully regulated online casino marketplace. If it opens up, RSI looks positioned to step in quickly.

Latin America: opportunity with caveats Latin America is "the most dynamic region for us" by Schwartz's description.

Mexico stands out as an opportunity: recent regulatory progress suggests a legalized market may open for licenses fairly soon. But Colombia, a casino leader in the region, faces some ongoing regulatory drift, exact policy direction still in flux. RSI sees this as a "longer term but not yet stable" environment.

Prediction markets: not a threat, RSI says

Sauers makes the case Kyle Sauers answered a question many in the gambling industry have been asking.

Do prediction markets like Kalshi, which effectively offer event-based betting without regulation as gambling, pose a competitive risk? Sauers said no. His reasoning: RSI's acquisition costs are trending lower, not rising. That undercuts the narrative that prediction platforms are siphoning away high-value users. "If they were eating our lunch, you'd see customer acquisition costs inflate as everyone fought for similar pools." The opposite is happening.

So RSI isn't rushing to launch prediction products. The focus stays on casino. And sales can chase some other story for now.

What this means for players For regular iGaming players, RSI's fundamentals matter because they drive what you actually experience: game selection, promotions and payout reliability.

A revenue record with no signs of slowdown tends to juice sign-up offers and loyalty pitches. Players in Alberta can expect RSI to roll out with a competitive bonus early in the market's liquidity accumulation period, typical pattern for new launches. If Virginia opens casino licensing, that's months if not years away. Not a household effect in Q2.

Meanwhile, Latin American players may gain additional land-based-internet mix choices as regulations stabilize. But at present, RSI reports not paying games fully regulated there at market scale.

The takeaway RSI posted an exceptional quarter with global margins growing and iGaming bets concentrating.

It's a portfolio positioned differently than RSI's main rivals: relatively less sports volatile, leaning genuine from skill cycles. Rising early Alberta market this summer is important to watch. Investor calls catchphrase two-word reduction … casino-first working. They only release quarterly, tune the Q2.