Rush Street Interactive and Kambi Group have entered into a multi-year partnership for sports betting.
Under the agreement, Rush Street will incorporate Kambi’s sports betting tech into its proprietary online gambling platform. The deal covers both online and retail services, and it includes provisions for extension beyond the US market in the future.
The partnership has big implications in Pennsylvania, too.
This week, the US Supreme Court cleared the way for state-regulated sports gambling, striking down a federal ban that had been in place since 1992. The Commonwealth now has an active law, and casinos could be legally accepting wagers as early as this year.
When it does, Rush Street seems to be in a good position to capitalize.
Rush Street will offer sports betting
Rush Street Gaming is building out a footprint across both the land-based and digital realms. The latter is very much the focus, though.
In addition to its four land-based casinos, Rush Street also operates PlaySugarHouse online casino in New Jersey. The site originates with SugarHouse Casino outside of Philadelphia, and it operates under the group’s ambitious Interactive division. Rivers Casino near Pittsburgh also belongs to Rush Street.
Both brick-and-mortar properties will also add online gambling in the near future.
What the group didn’t have, until today, was a plan for sports betting. It was, after all, federally illegal until this week. Rush Street President Richard Schwartz says the Kambi partnership aligns with Rush Street’s core values.
“Rush Street Interactive was founded on the key principles of providing entertaining and memorable experiences to our customers, without compromising on integrity.
Therefore, when deciding to launch a sports betting product, it was key we chose a partner who shared those principles, and at the same time provided us with the opportunity to launch a premier product firmly aligned with Rush Street’s focus on innovation and customer experience.
In Kambi we are confident we have found that partner and, following the recent Supreme Court ruling, look forward to launching a high-quality Sportsbook in the U.S., as well as other regulated markets internationally.”
It’s almost certain that Rush Street will offer sports betting at its two PA casinos and via online platforms. It now has a solution in place to do just that.
Incidentally, the group also owns property in New York and Illinois, two more states moving toward legal sports betting.
Kambi tempted by the US market
Thanks to SCOTUS, the US has become the frontier for sports betting. International bookmaking giants, including Paddy Power Betfair and William Hill, have been pressing hard for position in the new market.
Kambi is a lesser-known, business-facing provider, but it’s a prolific one. The company has almost 20 partnerships across six continents, serving gaming giants Kindred Group and 888, among others. It employs around 600 people in six offices, mostly working out of its Malta headquarters.
According to Chief Executive Kristian Nylen, Kambi has been preparing to enter the US for some time.
“Kambi has long kept a close eye on the U.S. market, carefully building a business and technology to suit the likely state-by-state regulation of sports betting, as well as meet the requirements stakeholders have for a safe and secure sportsbook.
This agreement with Rush Street Interactive, one of the most respected and innovative gaming companies in the U.S., is recognition that Kambi not only has online premium sports betting services ready to appeal to American sports enthusiasts, but those which will help protect the integrity of sports.”
Both parties had something the other one wanted, a good foundation for any partnership. Kambi gets an entry point into the US market, and Rush Street gets a software solution for its sportsbook.
