One of the gaming companies using innovative strategies to address a recent rise in the sports wagering tax in its home state of Illinois is Rush Street Interactive (NYSE: RSI).  The business recently mandated a $1 minimum wager in the state.

Rush Street is the sixth operator to react to the state's most recent rise in sports wagering taxes, which imposes a new 25-cent fee per wager on an operator's first 20 million bets booked. After that first 20 million, the fee doubles to 50 cents a wager.  The business joins BetMGM and Hard Rock Bet as the third to demand a minimum bet.  Hard Rock's $2 minimum and BetMGM's $2.50 minimum are significantly more than RSI's $1 minimum.

"We haven’t shared plans yet on exactly what we plan to do. We’re trying to make sure that we’re blending goals of a great player experience, but also appropriate economics for us,” said CFO Kyle Sauers on the company’s second-quarter earnings conference call Wednesday. “What we have done to date is we’ve moved the minimum bet up to $1. So that’s the move thus far, but we’re remaining flexible to figure out the right way to approach it as we get towards NFL season.”

While DraftKings, Fanatics, and FanDuel do not have bet size restrictions in the Land of Lincoln, they do charge transaction fees for each wager.

Investors on Rush Street Interactive Don't Mind at All

There was some speculation that Rush Street wouldn't be able to compete financially with rivals DraftKings and FanDuel after the Illinois sports betting tax increase, the state's second in a year, was announced over two months ago.  That might suggest that the minimum bet requirement is unexpected.

Investors are not bothered.  Shares of Rush Street Interactive are up 21.17% on volume, more than quadrupling the daily average, in late trading on the day after the game business raised its 2025 projection while announcing second-quarter results.

RSI informed investors that it anticipates $1.05 billion to $1.1 billion in revenue in 2025, with $133 million to $147 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA).  Implied growth is 51% and 16% at the middle of those ranges, respectively.

“The $30M increase to revenue at the midpoint incorporates the better-than-expected results in the quarter but highlights the efficiencies across the business in 2H25 for its iGaming-focused operations,” wrote Citizens Equity Research Analyst Jordan Bender in a new report.

Rush Street Stock Is Rising, But It's Not Cheap

With the help of Thursday's spike, Rush Street has increased by around 42% so far this year, making it one of the top performing gaming stocks overall.  This performance is significant because it demonstrates that the stock is providing investors with value at a high level.

"Shares are trading at 16.4x consensus 2027 EBITDA, representing one of the most expensive names across the gaming, lodging, and leisure space, and in line with historical premium multiples across international gaming markets,” adds Bender.

With $241 million in cash on hand at the end of the second quarter, RSI was $90 million above its lowest level from two years prior.