Rush Street Interactive announced Thursday that it has received its iGaming Operator Registration from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
RSI said in a news release that it intends to launch its BetRivers Sportsbook and online casino on April 4, the first day that Ontario sports betting and online casinos can begin in the province.
That brings the total to seven that have been registered by the AGCO for Ontario sports betting. Operators that have successfully registered with the AGCO must also execute an Operator Agreement with iGaming Ontario before they can legally operate in the province. iGaming Ontario was established by the province in 2021 to conduct and manage internet gaming in the province when provided through private gaming operators.
In a statement this morning, RSI says it plans to satisfy all remaining regulatory requirements so it can launch BetRivers on April 4.
Ontario Approval List Growing
BetRivers is joining several other big brands that are also registered and are preparing to launch — theScoreBet, 888, PointsBet, and Rivalry among those. The most recent was 888, which announced on March 4 it had received approval.
RSI Chief Executive Officer Richard Schwartz said in the release: “We are now one step closer to launching the BetRivers real-money online casino and sportsbook in Ontario and bringing our unique betting options, such as our innovative peer-to-peer slot tournaments or same game parlays, fast payouts, and award-winning customer service to the province’s millions of residents.”
“The receipt of our registration in Ontario is an important milestone that demonstrates our commitment to operating only in legalized markets where we pay local taxes, and we are grateful for the trust of the AGCO.”
Free To Play to Real Money
To date, RSI has offered a free-to-play social gaming platform via BetRivers.ca, which it says has experienced “strong traction” here. Those are players RSI says it will work to move over to real-money offerings after April 4 via the same technology behind the free-to-play platform.
Once the launch in Ontario occurs, Canada will join the U.S. and Colombia to become the third country where RSI operates real-money online gaming.
The company is the fourth largest operator of online casino and sports betting combined in the U.S., as of July 2021., according to Eilers & Krejcik.
