New York-listed online betting and iGaming operator Rush Street Interactive (RSI) has been named as the exclusive official sports betting partner of Florida’s Magic City Jai-Alai.
The agreement provides RSI’s BetRivers brand with exclusive rights to to use Magic City Jai-Alai’s official league data and streaming feeds for bettors to watch and bet during live games in real-time.
Magic City Jai-Alai has run over 4,000 matches since opening in 2018 under the regulatory oversight of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR).
“The league’s commitment to integrity and fair play impressed us from the outset,” said RSI CEO Richard Schwartz. “At the end of the day, RSI wants to offer our players engaging and high integrity betting content and we’re thrilled that Magic City’s league is able to achieve both of these goals.”
BetRivers has initially launched betting on Jai-Alai, a ball game that originated in Spain’s Basque region, in Illinois and Iowa with other markets to be added in the future.
“RSI is excited to partner with Magic City Jai-Alai to pioneer this new fast-paced format of play for Jai-Alai, a sport which has long been a betting favorite and has a storied history in Florida dating back to the 1930’s,” continued Schwartz. “Jai-Alai is the fastest sport in the world, with ball speeds exceeding 150 mph, and with this new electrifying format, we are really excited to offer bettors a unique way to watch in real-time and bet in-play on a sport we know they will love.”
Magic City chief operating officer Scott Savin commented: “Working closely with the RSI team, we are excited to pioneer a new twist on an old favorite and offer fans exciting and different ways to engage with Jai-Alai while modernizing the sport to a whole new digital betting audience.
“From day one we’ve made it our mission to create an innovative and modern-looking league where the integrity of the game and its athletes have been our focus to earn and retain our bettors’ trust.”
Shares in Rush Street Interactive Inc (NYSE:RSI) closed 0.31 per cent lower at $19.22 per share in New York Wednesday.