The Covid-19 pandemic has boosted the growth of the online gambling industry and is set to put the legalization of sports betting across the USA on a fast track.
RSI and dMY Technology Group Create an Online Gaming Giant in the USA
Chicago billionaire Neil Bluhm added another $1 billion to his fortune following the merger between Rush Street Interactive (RSI) and dMY Technology Group on December 30.
Rush Street Interactive (RSI) is an online casino and sports betting operator co-founded by Bluhm and his longtime business partner Greg Carlin in 2012. Currently, it operates in the US sports betting and online gambling segments. Upon completion of the deal, the combined company will be an online gaming leader with US market share in online casinos that is currently among the top-notch in the industry.
RSI is one of the fastest-growing online casino and sports betting gaming companies in the United States. Last month, it announced it had inked a partnership with Century Casinos to launch an online casino in West Virginia at BetRivers.com. In October, the company disclosed another agreement to bring Australian gaming supplier Ainsworth’s portfolio to New Jersey.
Bluhm’s Portfolio is Expected to Continue Growing as US Gambling Industry Expands
Bluhm’s net worth is estimated at $6.3 billion. It includes a 54% stake in RSI valued at $2.3 billion, as well as a real estate portfolio spreading from California to Chicago and small stakes in the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago White Sox. His business partner Carlin’s stake in RSI stands at 17% and is worth about $720 million.
Since July, when RSI announced it is going public, the value of the company has skyrocketed. Meanwhile, its revenue in Q3 surged by 370% year-over-year to reach $78.2 million. In an interview for a local TV channel, Bluhm said:
“This is the most exciting and fastest-growing business I have been involved in. And there are several reasons for that: first it is a brand new business virtually. Internet gaming was not allowed and sports betting wasn’t legal until a few years ago until the Supreme Court legalized it. And internet casino gambling, which is different from sports betting, had just started in a relatively few number of states.”
Neil Bluhm, Co-Founder and Chairman of Rush Street Interactive
Online gaming has surged during the coronavirus pandemic and an increasing number of US states is now looking to legalize online betting in order to raise revenue. Experts say that the market for sports betting and online gambling is still in its initial stages of growth and will at least quadruple in the next ten years.
RSI is currently present in nine US states — Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania — and the country of Colombia.