On Monday (29 July), Rush Street Interactive (RSI) announced its expansion into Peru, tapping into a newly regulated market with a population exceeding 30 million.
RSI is already live in Colombia and Mexico, and this new expansion further extends the company’s influence in LatAm.
With its expansion, RSI claims to be the first fully licensed operator in Peru’s new regulatory framework.
Rush Street Interactive chief executive officer Richard Schwartz believes RushBet’s Peru launch will prove crucial to the company’s growth in the exciting but competitive LatAm region.
“This move allows us to leverage our proven operational expertise in Latin America, particularly the brand equity and operational efficiencies we’ve built in the region over the past six years,” Schwartz said.
“Peru’s vibrant sports culture and growing digital economy present an exciting long-term opportunity for RushBet to offer our best-in-class product to a new and enthusiastic audience.”
Rush Street Interactive’s LatAm expansion
RSI’s Peru launch comes with the company already live in both Colombia and Mexico.
In June 2018, Rush Street became the first US company to launch a regulated online sportsbook in South America when it did so in Colombia.
In July 2022, Rush Street Interactive launched RushBet in Mexico with a 25-year agreement. It did so thanks to a partnership with Mexican media conglomerate Grupo Multimedios.
RSI is enjoying success in LatAm, too. When announcing the company’s Q1 2024 results, Schwartz noted the business had observed revenue increases of 84.0% in its LatAm operations year-on-year, with room for “continued growth” with further investment.
Schwartz feels the new Peru expansion will prove a “key component” to the business’ LatAm ambitions, aided by the company’s previous experiences in the region.
“We’re excited to bring this expertise to Peru, where we see significant potential for growth in both online casino and sports betting segments,” Schwartz added.
Peru’s newly regulated market
Peru’s journey to regulation took a big step in October 2023 when Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur) approved regulations for gambling.
That approval came after Peru’s then-president Pedro Castillo signed Law 31557 into effect in 2022. However, controversy over aspects such as tax and costly retail licences led to delays.
But after an amended law was approved in May 2023, Mincetur’s approval means Peru now has a regulated market.
Among the amendments was replacing the retail licence requirement with a single online licence. The cost of that licence tripled to Sol2.97m (£638,628/€744,466/$807,641) or 3% of net income, whichever was higher, while a 12% consumption tax was also established.
After Law 31557 came into effect on 9 February, Mincetur received 145 operator requests for licences in the initial 30 days.
In June, Betsson received a licence to operate its Betsson and Betsafe brands in Peru. Shortly after, Betsson subsidiary Inkabet acquired local licences in Peru, powered by GiG’s platform following an expansion to their deal.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/legal-compliance/licensing/rush-street-latam-peru/
