The services, which will be provided through RSI’s subsidiary, BetRivers, are subject to regulation and the legalisation of sports betting in certain jurisdictions.
Richard Schwartz, President and CEO, RSI, commented: “We are pleased to gain potential market access to three new states, as we continue the execution of our strategy to gain access and bring our online gaming offerings to key markets across the United States.
“The addition of Ohio, Maryland and Missouri to our market access portfolio, specifically, builds on RSI’s success in neighbouring states and will create enhanced marketing efficiencies for our BetRivers brand.”
The agreement with Penn National Gaming offers RSI the ability to operate under a second skin for up to 20 years. It also offers the operator a right of first refusal to do the same in Texas, a state which is yet to legalise sports betting in any form.
Schwartz continued: “We continue to engage in productive dialogue with industry participants, such as tribal and commercial casinos and other stakeholders, to further our expansion into new states. We expect to continue entering into additional market access arrangements in the future, as other opportunities arise.”
To date, none of the three states have launched legal online sports betting. Ohio currently operates in-person sports betting only and, while online sports betting has been approved by the State Governor, it is unlikely to come into force until later this year, at the earliest.
Maryland falls into a similar category, though is yet to pass online sports betting through the legal processes.
Missouri is yet to legalise any form of sports betting, despite attempts made to do so in both 2020 and 2021, respectively.
