BetRivers parent company Rush Street Interactive (RSI) has appointed former Warner Bros, Discovery Chief Technology Officer Shubham Tyagi as its new CTO.
Tyagi will bring more than two decades of experience leading complex, large-scale global technology organizations across media, entertainment, sports and retail, said RSI. He will report directly to CEO Richard Schwartz.
As CTO and an SVP at Warner Bros, Discovery, he was in charge of aspects of the company such as its global sports digital portfolio, which includes Bleacher Report, NBA Digital, NCAA March Madness Live, TNT Sports (Latin America & Europe), Eurosport and the Olympics.
He led global engineering and operations teams across 20+ platforms, developed direct-to-consumer experiences for audiences in the U.S., LatAm and Europe.
RSI said his appointment marks another step in the company’s growth and commitment to investing in top-tier senior leadership. His arrival follows recent strategic hires across marketing, product, and data leadership.
“As RSI continues to innovate and strengthen our technology capabilities, we sought a leader with exceptional technical depth, global experience, and a people-first leadership style,” said Schwartz. “Shubham stood out not only for his experience and expertise, but also for his ability to build trust, drive alignment, and scale platforms that serve millions of customers around the world. We’re thrilled to welcome him to RSI.”
“I’m honored to join RSI at such an exciting time in its growth,” added Tyagi. “The company’s commitment to innovation, integrity, and creating best-in-class player-first experiences deeply resonates with my own leadership philosophy. I look forward to collaborating with the exceptional RSI team to develop advanced and flexible technical solutions that deliver innovative player experiences and transform the future of online gaming.”
RSI offers real-money mobile and online operations in fifteen U.S. states as well as the Canadian regulated online gaming province of Ontario, Mexico, Peru and Colombia.
RSI looks to further shifts after latest record quarter
The latest appointment comes after BetRivers expanded its proprietary online poker platform, BetRivers Poker, into Delaware, Michigan and West Virginia in June. The product had previously only been available in Pennsylvania since last fall. It intends to add New Jersey to the pool before the end of 2025.
It also recently reacted to Illinois‘ sports betting per-wager tax on operators by raising its minimum bet, which is 10 cents across the U.S., to $1 in that state.
Executives confirmed the move in late July, at the time that the company announced it had recorded record revenue and record adjusted EBITDA for a ninth quarter in a row. The growth was driven by online casino, where revenue rose 25% compared with sports betting revenue growth of 15%. Monthly active users across North America markets rose by 30%.
Like all operators, one new technological channel RSI is monitoring closely is prediction markets and event contracts. But, as an iCasino-first company, RSI isn’t so muich interested in offering event contracts as it is in what it might mean for online casino down the line.
“If prediction markets increase the chances of tax dollar erosion for states that have legal online sports betting, I think a very real possibility is that it could accelerate the legalization of iCasino, which doesn’t have the same level of risk,” Schwartz said on an earnings call in late July. “So, I think it could work out well for us, ultimately.”
