Earnings Preview: Is RSI Keeping BetRivers Competitive?


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BetRivers

Rush Street Interactive, the parent company of BetRivers, handles business a bit differently than other land-based operators that launched online.

Caesars and MGM, for example, decided to go all-out and try to compete with FanDuel and DraftKings. RSI, though, decided to keep online investment and operations right-sized for its company.

While BetRivers does not typically jump off the page with big numbers in any state revenue reports, RSI executives have been happy with results from the Kambi-powered sportsbook.

Anything from the Nov. 1 call that could serve as a catalyst for RSI would be appreciated by stockholders. The stock, which closed at $3.38 Wednesday, is down significantly from its high of $25.17, which it hit in January 2021 following RSI’s public launch in December 2020.

How are new BetRivers features performing?

RSI CEO Richard Schwartz made it clear that the BetRivers sportsbook would not be ignored just because of the company’s emphasis on iGaming.

The company said it improved its parlay product during the second quarter and would roll out a new prop product for the football season.

Prop Central now highlights all player props in one place. Previously, bettors had to search through individual games to find the props they wanted.

Could BetRivers parent see Q3 profit?

Like many others in the digital gaming industry, RSI showed a profit for the first time in the second quarter of this year.

Rush Street reported $1.2 million in adjusted EBITDA in Q2, which Schwartz credited to operational improvements and 15% revenue growth. Continued growth and improvements could help the third quarter hit a profit as well, though Schwartz seemed to hedge expectations a bit.

Schwartz said he expects a profitable second half, which certainly leaves the door open for a loss in the third quarter, as many operators expect. That said, Schwartz did indicate the third quarter could be positive if revenue is about even with Q2.

RSI posted an adjusted EBITDA loss of $12.5 million in the third quarter of last year.

Promos should not drag bottom line

One thing investors should not be concerned about is any outsized spending on third-quarter promotions.

RSI routinely shows how it spends a significantly lower percentage of revenue on promotions than its four biggest competitors.

According to RSI’s fourth-quarter investor presentation, promotions were 22.2% of revenue for Rush Street. That compared to 33.7% for those four previously listed competitors.