Rush Street Interactive revenue, profits leap in first quarter
Revenue, profitability and cash flow for Rush Street Interactive jumped by double and even triple digits in the first quarter of 2026. The results were announced late on 28 April and prompted RSI to increase its full-year earnings guidance.
Revenue leapt 41% to US$370.4 million from US$262.4 million in the first quarter of 2025. Profits catapulted 134% over the same timespan, going from US$11.2 million to US$26.2 million.
Cash flow vaulted 81%, reaching US$60.2 million, up from US$33.2 million. Revenue per monthly active user was US$317 on average for the United States and Canada, and US$54 per player in Latin America.
Monthly active users grew 51% to 839,000. About 296,000 were in the US and Canada, up 46%. That was driven, according to RSI, by 62% growth in igaming players.
Players in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America numbered 543,000. That was an increase of 54% year-over-year.
RSI raised its revenue guidance for 2026 to about US$1.5 billion, an increase of 31% from 2025. Cash-flow projections were elevated to between US$230 million and US$250 million, which would be growth of 50% to 63%.
“The continued acceleration we’ve seen in revenue and player growth is particularly exciting,” CEO Richard Schwartz said in a prepared statement. “We’ve now achieved accelerating year-over-year player growth in each of the last four quarters, reflecting the strength in our business.”
Schwartz continued, “we also achieved record first-time depositors this quarter while maintaining disciplined marketing spend, showcasing our expanding brand awareness and the efficiency we’ve built into our customer acquisition and retention model.”
In conclusion, Schwartz said, “looking ahead, we have tremendous confidence in our trajectory. We’re executing well, growing our player base rapidly and profitably, and preparing for an exciting new market launch in Alberta,” scheduled for July.
David McKee is an award-winning journalist who has three decades of experience covering the gaming industry.
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The Backstory
Momentum behind the headline numbers
Rush Street Interactive’s first-quarter jump in revenue, profit and cash flow capped a year of steady acceleration. The company spent 2025 stacking consecutive gains, then started 2026 with a sharper step up after expanding its player base and holding the line on costs.
In the second quarter of 2025, RSI flipped a year-earlier loss to a profit of $28.8 million as revenue rose 22% to $269.2 million and cash flow nearly doubled to $40.2 million. Executives lifted full-year guidance and highlighted online casino strength in North America and user growth in Latin America, where the company absorbed a new value-added tax in Colombia that pressured per-player revenue while Latin American users climbed 42% to 403,000.
The company kept that pace through the third quarter, posting its best Q3 on record with $277.9 million in revenue, a 20% increase, and $14.8 million in profit. Cash flow surged 54% to $36 million and sales and marketing dipped slightly, giving RSI room to raise full-year guidance again as North American monthly active users rose 34% and Latin American users grew 30%. Management emphasized that online casino led growth and that player gains had accelerated each month since March, even with lower marketing outlays as North American ARPU reached $365 versus $27 in Latin America.
The foundation was laid earlier, when RSI opened 2025 with double-digit gains and a return to profitability. In the first quarter of 2025, revenue rose 21% to $262.4 million and cash flow nearly doubled to $33.2 million, with North American MAUs up 17% and Latin America up 61%. The company reiterated full-year revenue guidance of $1.0 billion to just under $1.1 billion and pointed to product improvements and efficient player acquisition as drivers while average revenue per player hit $368.
Online casino drives North American gains
RSI’s outperformance in online casino has been the engine of its North American growth. Through mid-2025, the company reported consistent increases in MAUs and ARPU across key states. In the third quarter, management called out steep revenue gains in Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ontario, signaling that growth was broad-based and not dependent on seasonal sports calendars as igaming retention and player value reached highs.
That focus on casino helped RSI sustain higher revenue per user versus sportsbook-heavy peers. The company said North American ARPU was $391 in the second quarter of 2025 then $365 in the third, both well above Latin America. With the latest quarter showing a larger North American player base and continued efficiency in marketing, RSI entered 2026 positioned to translate user growth into improving margins and cash generation even as it scaled MAUs in the U.S. and Canada by double digits.
Latin America scales, margins adjust
Latin America has been RSI’s volume story. The region accounted for most of the company’s MAU expansion in 2025, but regulatory and tax changes weighed on per-user economics. In Colombia, a new value-added tax prompted RSI to increase bonuses to keep players engaged, which lifted activity but pushed down reported ARPU. Management said the tax had accelerated deposit and withdrawal churn and that profitability would improve if the levy sunsets as scheduled at year-end unless extended by lawmakers.
Mexico presents a different tax overhang. RSI has flagged the likelihood that its effective rate could rise from 30% to 50%, a potential headwind for margins even as user counts rise. Still, the company has continued to invest in the region, arguing that long-term growth in large addressable markets justifies near-term pressure. That strategy was evident in mid-2025 when Latin American ARPU fell from the high $30s to $30 after absorbing the Colombian VAT, yet users grew 42% in the second quarter and 30% in the third with momentum extending beyond sports-led spikes.
Marketing discipline and capital returns
RSI’s cost control has been as important as its top-line expansion. Sales and marketing edged up only modestly year over year in early 2025 and declined slightly in the third quarter even as first-time depositors hit records and player growth accelerated. Management has emphasized product differentiation and retention over heavy promotional spend, supporting steady margin gains with marketing up just 3% in early 2025 and lower in Q3 despite stronger acquisition.
On capital allocation, RSI initiated share repurchases in the first half of 2025 then paused to preserve flexibility. The company bought back $5.2 million of stock in the first quarter and $2.5 million in the second, leaving $42 million under authorization. By the third quarter, executives said repurchases would be opportunistic given potential new-market entries and a strong cash position with no debt following an 88% jump in cash flow in Q2 and $273 million of cash on hand.
From guidance lifts to a bigger 2026 target
The latest full-year outlook builds on a string of upgrades. RSI reaffirmed $1.0 billion to just under $1.1 billion in revenue for 2025 after the first quarter, then raised expectations midyear as results topped internal goals. By the third quarter, the company projected 2025 revenue of $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion and cash flow of $147 million to $153 million, up as much as 62% from 2024 on consistent quarterly growth.
The step-change to 2026 guidance — revenue of about $1.5 billion and cash flow of $230 million to $250 million — signals confidence that user gains will convert into higher profitability as marketing efficiency holds and product improvements lift retention. A planned launch in Alberta in July adds a catalyst in a market that allows RSI to deploy its full casino and sportsbook suite, a strategy executives have said maximizes player value and supports durable cash generation in North American markets that include online casino.
Competitive signals in a shifting market
Rivals’ results underscore the importance of mix and regulatory exposure. Betsson reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of €285.3 million, down 3% year over year, with profits sliding as B2B revenue fell after the loss of a key customer. Its B2C operations grew 15% and Latin America rose 25%, but an increasing share of locally regulated revenue weighed on margins even as Western Europe and Italy gained.
For RSI, a direct-to-consumer model concentrated in regulated online casino jurisdictions has delivered steadier ARPU and improving cash flow, though Latin America’s tax swings can dent per-user metrics. Management has argued that gray-market products such as prediction markets and sweepstakes could nudge more states toward regulated igaming, where RSI sees its core advantage, but the company has avoided pushing boundaries as it focuses on sustainable growth and regulatory clarity with an emphasis on product and retention.
That context frames the stakes for 2026: convert a larger, more engaged player base into higher-margin revenue, navigate Latin American tax resets and execute new market entries without reigniting heavy promotional spend. RSI’s recent cadence of guidance raises and cash flow gains suggests it is trying to prove that online casino scale can compound without sacrificing discipline.
