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Rush Street Interactive, Inc. (RSI) FY 2022 MD&A

Verbatim Item 7 Management's Discussion and Analysis from Rush Street Interactive, Inc.'s 10-K for fiscal year 2022. Filing date: 2023-03-02. Report date: 2022-12-31. Accession: 0001793659-23-000010.

This page reproduces the company's own Item 7 MD&A text from the linked SEC filing. It is filer text, not grepcent analysis, scoring, or investment advice.

Extracted structurally from real Item 7 body heading to real Item 7A/8 boundary. Confidence: high.

Company profile: RSI · All MD&A years: index · Previous year: FY 2021 · Next year: FY 2023

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with, and is qualified in its entirety by, our consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report. In addition to historical financial information, the following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results and timing of selected events may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those discussed under the sections of this Annual Report captioned “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors.”

This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (this “MD&A”) contains certain financial measures, in particular the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA, which are not presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles of the United States (“GAAP”). We present these non-GAAP financial measures because they provide us and readers of this MD&A with additional insight into our operational performance relative to earlier periods and relative to our competitors. These non-GAAP financial measures are not a substitute for any GAAP financial information. Readers of this MD&A should use these non-GAAP financial measures only in conjunction with the comparable GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of Adjusted EBITDA to Net Loss, the most comparable GAAP measure, are provided in this MD&A.

Unless the context requires otherwise, all references in this MD&A to the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our” refer to the Rush Street Interactive, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

Our Business

We are a leading online gaming and entertainment company that focuses primarily on online casino and online sports betting in the U.S., Canada and Latin American markets. Our mission is to engage and delight players by delivering friendly, fun and fair betting experiences. In furtherance of this mission, we strive to create an online community for our customers where we are transparent and honest, treat our customers fairly, show them that we value their time and loyalty, and listen to feedback. We also endeavor to implement industry leading responsible gaming practices and provide our customers with a cutting-edge online gaming platform and exciting, personalized offerings that will enhance their user experience.

We provide our customers with an array of leading gaming offerings such as real-money online casino, online sports betting, and retail sports betting (i.e., sports betting services provided at bricks-and-mortar locations), as well as social gaming, which involves free-to-play games using virtual credits that users can earn or purchase. We launched our first social gaming website in 2015 and began accepting real-money bets in the United States in 2016. Currently, we offer real-money online casino, online sports betting and/or retail sports betting in 15 U.S. states and the international markets as outlined in the table below.

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JurisdictionOnline CasinoOnline Sports BettingRetail Sports Betting
Domestic:
Arizonaü
Coloradoü
Connecticutüü
Illinoisüü
Indianaüü
Iowaü
Louisianaü
Marylandüü
Michiganüüü
New Jerseyüü
New Yorküü
Ohioü
Pennsylvaniaüüü
Virginiaüü
West Virginiaüü
International:
Colombiaüü
Ontario (Canada)üü
Mexicoüü

Our real-money online casino and online sports betting offerings are currently provided under our BetRivers and PlaySugarHouse brands in the United States and Canada and under our RushBet brand in Latin America (which includes Mexico). We operate and/or support retail sports betting for our bricks-and-mortar partners under our brands or our partners’ respective brands depending on the terms of our arrangement. Many of our social gaming offerings are marketed under our own brands, although we also offer social gaming under our partners’ brands as well. Our decision about what brand or brands to use is market- and partner-specific, and is based on brand awareness, market research, marketing efficiency and applicable gaming rules and regulations.

Impact of COVID-19

COVID-19 significantly impacted our business. Beyond disruptions in our normal business operations in prior years, COVID-19 impacted consumer habits and preferences, with some consumers opting to avoid crowded public places such as land-based casinos. In prior years, COVID-19 also impacted sports betting due to the rescheduling, reconfiguring, suspension, postponement and cancellation of sports seasons and sporting events or exclusion of certain players or teams from sporting events, which tended to reduce customers’ use of, and spending on, our sports betting offerings. A future pandemic may have a similar, material adverse impact on our business.

Our revenue varies based on sports seasons and sporting events, among other factors, and cancellations, suspensions or alterations resulting from a future pandemic may adversely affect our revenue, possibly materially. However, our online casino offerings do not rely on sports seasons and sporting events, thus, they may partially offset this adverse impact on revenue.

Our Business Model

We enter new markets by leveraging our proprietary online gaming platform and our ability to provide either a full-suite service model or a customized solution to fit a specific situation. Our business model is designed to be nimble, innovative and customer-centric. By leveraging our dynamic proprietary online gaming platform, we generally aim to be

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“first to market” where real-money online gaming has been newly legalized and where our management determines that it is desirable to enter such market.

We currently generate revenue through two operating models: (i) B2C and (ii) B2B. Through our primary operating model, B2C, we offer online casino, online sports betting, retail sports betting and social gaming directly to the end customer through our websites, apps or physical retail locations. Our B2C operations contributed more than 98% of our total revenue for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, and we expect that it will continue to be our primary operating model into the future. While real-money B2C transactions represent a majority of our revenue, our social gaming offerings generally increase customer engagement and build online databases in key markets both before and after legalization and regulation. We believe our B2C model is flexible, permitting us to customize our operating structure based on applicable gaming regulations, market demands and, as applicable, our land-based partner’s operations. Through our B2B operations, we offer retail sports betting services to land-based businesses, such as bricks-and-mortar casinos, in exchange for a monthly commission. B2C and B2B products can be launched under one of our existing brands or customized to be incorporated into a local or third-party brand.

Often in advance of markets legalizing online gaming, we build relationships with local bricks-and-mortar casino operators and other potential land-based partners who are looking for online gaming and sports betting partners. In most U.S. jurisdictions, the applicable gaming regulations require online gaming operators that offer real-money offerings to operate under the gaming license of, or partner with, a bricks-and-mortar casino or other type of local partner such as a professional sports team. Consequently, we leverage our relationships with bricks-and-mortar casinos and others in the gaming industry to find high-quality, reliable partners for online gaming collaboration. Upon securing a partner for access to a specific market (if required or desirable) and before we launch operations in that market, we customize our online gaming platform to comply with the laws and regulations of the jurisdiction. Then, upon entering a new market, we employ a number of marketing strategies to obtain new customers as well as leverage our partner’s database when applicable. We continuously refine our offerings and marketing strategies based on data collected from each market. To attract, engage, retain and/or reactivate customers, we offer a loyalty program that rewards customers in exciting, fair and transparent ways. We recognize and reward customer loyalty by, among other things, ensuring there are exciting benefits at each of the customer loyalty levels we currently offer.

The Business Combination

On December 29, 2020, we completed the Business Combination. See “Business — Business Combination” for a description of the Business Combination and the agreements entered into in connection therewith.

Trends in Key Metrics

Monthly Active Users

MAUs is the number of unique users per month who have placed at least one real-money bet across one or more of our online casino or online sports betting offerings. For periods longer than one month, we average the MAUs for the months in the relevant period. We exclude users who have made a deposit but have not yet placed a real-money bet on at least one of our online offerings. We also exclude users who have placed a real-money bet but only with promotional incentives. The numbers of unique users included in calculating MAUs only include U.S.- and Canada-based users of our online real-money offerings.

MAUs is a key indicator of the scale of our user base and awareness of our brands. We believe that year-over-year MAUs is also generally indicative of the long-term revenue growth potential of our business, although MAUs in individual periods may be less indicative of our longer-term expectations. We expect the number of MAUs to grow as we attract, retain and re-engage users in new and existing jurisdictions and expand our offerings to appeal to a wider audience.

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The chart below presents our average MAUs for the years ended 2022, 2021 and 2020:

The year-over-year increase in MAUs for 2022 compared to 2021 was mainly due to our continued growth and strong customer retention rates in existing markets such as Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan and New Jersey, as well as our expansion into new markets such as New York, Ontario (Canada), Louisiana and Maryland. Additionally, we continue to achieve a positive response from our strategic advertising and marketing efforts.

The year-over-year increase in MAUs for 2021 compared to 2020 was mainly due to our continued growth and strong customer retention rates in existing markets such as Pennsylvania, Illinois, New Jersey, Indiana and Colorado, as well as our expansion into new markets such as Michigan, Virginia, Connecticut, West Virginia and Arizona. Additionally, we continued to achieve a positive response from our strategic advertising and marketing efforts.

Average Revenue Per Monthly Active User

ARPMAU for an applicable period is average revenue divided by average MAUs. This key metric represents our ability to drive usage and monetization of our online offerings.

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The chart below presents our ARPMAU for the years ended 2022, 2021 and 2020:

The year-over-year decrease in ARPMAU for 2022 compared to 2021 was mainly due to an increase in the number of sports betting-only markets such as New York, Louisiana and Maryland, which, when combined with our increased promotional and advertising activities in those markets, resulted in an increase in the number of customers in sports betting-only markets. Sports betting-only customers generally generate less revenue per customer than customers who use online casino. This year-over-year decrease in ARPMAUs was partially offset by decreased customer bonusing volumes in existing markets and the addition of the Ontario (Canada) market, which includes casino operations.

The year-over-year increase in ARPMAU for 2021 compared to 2020 was mainly due to a favorable mix of online casino MAUs, as casino customers generally generate more revenue per user than sports betting customers. Additionally, as our product offerings continue to be available in more mature markets, customer bonusing volumes have decreased, thus resulting in higher ARPMAUs. This year-over-year increase in ARPMAUs was partially offset by increased promotional spend related to new market launches in jurisdictions such as Michigan, Virginia, West Virginia, Arizona and Connecticut.

Non-GAAP Information

This MD&A includes Adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP performance measure that we use to supplement our results presented in accordance with GAAP. We believe Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors regarding our results of operations and operating performance, as it is similar to measures reported by our public competitors and is regularly used by securities analysts, institutional investors and other interested parties in analyzing operating performance and prospects. Non-GAAP financial measures are not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for any GAAP financial measures and, as calculated, may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of performance of other companies in other industries or within the same industry.

We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, share-based compensation, adjustments for certain one-time or non-recurring items and other adjustments. Adjusted EBITDA excludes certain expenses that are required in accordance with GAAP because certain expenses are

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either non-cash (i.e., depreciation and amortization, and share-based compensation) or are not related to our underlying business performance (i.e., interest income or expense).

We include Adjusted EBITDA because management uses it to evaluate our core operating performance and trends and to make strategic decisions regarding the distribution of capital and new investments. Management believes that Adjusted EBITDA provides investors with useful information on our past financial and operating performance, enables comparison of financial results from period-to-period where certain items may vary independent of business performance, and allows for greater transparency with respect to metrics used by our management in operating our business. Management also believes that Adjusted EBITDA is useful in evaluating our operating performance compared to that of other companies in our industry, as this metric generally eliminates the effects of certain items that may vary from company to company for reasons unrelated to overall operating performance.

The table below presents our Adjusted EBITDA reconciled from our Net loss, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, for the periods indicated:

Years Ended December 31,
($ in thousands)202220212020
Net loss$(134,332)$(71,092)$(131,645)
Interest expense, net573187135
Income tax expense8,9614,6882,919
Depreciation and amortization14,3254,2452,082
Change in fair value of earnout interests liability13,7402,338
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities(41,802)(7,166)
One-time payment from Affiliated casino(9,000)
Share-based compensation18,69124,912144,733
Adjusted EBITDA$(91,782)$(65,122)$4,396

Key Factors Affecting Our Results

Our financial position and results of operations depend, to a significant extent on the following factors:

Industry Opportunity and Competitive Landscape

We operate within the global gaming and entertainment industry, which is comprised of diverse products and offerings that compete for consumers’ time and disposable income. As we prepare to enter new jurisdictions, we expect to face significant competition from other existing industry players, some of which may have more experience in online casino, and online and/or retail sports betting or in one or more of the markets in which we operate or intend to operate, and have access to more resources. We believe that our proprietary online gaming platform, our experience operating in domestic and foreign jurisdictions, our brand and marketing strategies, which appeal to both male and female customers, and our many unique product offerings and bonusing features will enable us to compete with such existing industry players.

Our performance may vary from one jurisdiction to the next, resulting from the level of competition in each jurisdiction.

Legalization, Regulation and Taxation

Our financial growth prospects largely depend on our ability to make our online casino and sports betting offerings available in more jurisdictions, with particular emphasis on the United States and Latin America, a trend that we believe is still in its early stage. Online casino may expand further due to many factors, including that many U.S. states are seeking ways to increase revenues. Online sports betting’s prospects were made possible after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down PASPA in May 2018. Our strategy is to enter new jurisdictions that we believe are financially prudent for us to enter. Online casino is currently authorized only in seven U.S. states: Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Nevada (although regulators have not authorized online casino outside of physical casinos in Nevada). As of the date hereof, 35 states and the District of Columbia have authorized sports betting. Of those 36

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jurisdictions, 26 states have authorized statewide online sports betting while 10 remain authorized for retail-only at casinos or retail locations.

The process of securing the necessary licenses or partnerships to operate in a given jurisdiction may take longer than we anticipate. In addition, legislative or regulatory restrictions and gaming taxes may make it less attractive or more difficult for us to do business in a particular jurisdiction. Further, certain jurisdictions require us to have a relationship with a bricks-and-mortar casino or other land-based partner for online casino and/or sports betting access, which tends to increase our costs of revenue. Jurisdictions that have established state or government-run monopolies may limit opportunities for private operators such as us.

States and some local governments impose tax rates on online casino and sports betting, which may vary substantially between states. We are also subject to a federal excise tax of 0.25% on the amount of each sports bet placed. We believe the jurisdictions that will create the most compelling levels of profitability for us are jurisdictions with both online casino and sports betting at favorable tax rates.

Ability to Acquire, Retain and Monetize Customers

Our ability to effectively market is critical to operational success. Using experience, dynamic learnings and analytics, we leverage marketing to acquire, convert, retain and/or re-engage customers. We use a variety of earned media and paid marketing channels, in combination with compelling offers, brand ambassadors, proprietary content, and unique game and site features, to attract and engage customers. Furthermore, we continuously optimize our marketing spend using data collected from our operations. Our marketing spend is based on a return-on-investment model that considers a variety of factors, including the product offerings in the jurisdiction, the performance of different marketing channels, predicted lifetime value, marginal costs and expenses and behavior of customers across various product offerings.

With respect to paid marketing, we use a broad array of advertising channels, including television, radio, social media platforms, sponsorships, affiliates and paid search, and other digital channels. We also use other forms of marketing and outreach, such as our social media channels, first-party websites, media interviews and other media spots and organic searches. These efforts are concentrated within the specific jurisdictions where we operate or intend to operate. We believe there is significant benefit to having a flexible approach to advertising spending as we can quickly redirect our advertising spending based on dynamic testing of which advertising methods and channels are working and which ones are not.

These investments and personalized promotions are intended to increase consumer awareness and drive engagement. While we have some data points of the effectiveness of our marketing and promotion activities, our limited operating history and the relative novelty of the U.S. online casino and sports betting industries make it difficult for us to predict when we will achieve our longer-term profitability objectives.

Managing Wagering Risk

The online casino and retail and online sports betting businesses are characterized by an element of chance. Accordingly, we employ theoretical win rates to estimate what a certain type of online casino wager or retail or online sports bet, on average, will win or lose in the long run. Revenue is impacted by variations in the hold percentage (the ratio of winnings to total amount bet) of the gaming offerings we make available to our customers. We use the hold percentage as an indicator of an online casino game or retail or online sports bet’s performance against its expected outcome. Although each bet generally performs within a defined statistical range of outcomes in the long run, actual outcomes may vary for any given period, particularly in the short term. The element of chance may affect win rates (hold percentages); these win rates, particularly for retail and online sports betting, may also be affected in the short term by factors that are largely beyond our control, such as unanticipated event outcomes, a customer’s skill, experience and behavior, the mix of games played or bets placed, the financial resources of customers, the volume of bets placed and the amount of time spent betting. For online casino games, a random number generator outcome or game could malfunction and award errant prizes. For retail and online sports betting, our platform could erroneously posts odds or otherwise be misprogrammed to pay out odds that are highly favorable to bettors, and bettors place bets before the odds are corrected. Additionally, odds compilers and risk managers are capable of human error, so even if our betting products are subject to a capped payout, significant volatility can occur. As a result of the variability in these factors, the actual win rates on our online casino games and retail and online sports bets may differ from the theoretical win rates we have estimated and could result in the winnings of our customers exceeding those anticipated. The variability of win rates (hold rates) also has the potential to adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, prospects and cash flows.

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Mix of Revenue Based on Time Period in Markets

Our profitability generally depends on how long we have been operating in each jurisdiction. Usually, but not always, our profitability levels will increase in a jurisdiction as we have operated there for longer.

Mix of Revenue From Our Different Operating Models

Because we operate using two different operating models, each of which has its own unique range of profitability, the relative proportion of revenue that is derived from each operating model in a given time period could impact our overall level of profitability.

Key Components of Revenue and Expenses

Revenue

We currently offer real-money online casino, online sports betting and/or retail sports betting in 15 U.S. states, Colombia, Ontario, Canada and Mexico. We also provide social gaming (where permitted), where users can earn or purchase virtual credits to enjoy free-to-play games.

Our revenue is predominantly generated from our U.S. and Canada operations, with the remaining revenue being generated from our Latin America (including Mexico) operations. See Note 4 to our consolidated financial statements, included elsewhere in this Annual Report. We generate revenue primarily through the following offerings:

Online Casino

Online casino offerings typically include the full suite of games available in bricks-and-mortar casinos, such as table games (i.e., blackjack and roulette) and slot machines. For these offerings, similar to bricks-and-mortar casinos, we generate revenue through hold, or gross winnings, as customers play against the house. Like bricks-and-mortar casinos, there is volatility with online casino, but as the number of bets placed increases, the revenue retained from bets placed becomes easier to predict. Our experience has been that online casino revenue is less volatile than sports betting revenue.

Our online casino offering consists of a combination of licensed content from leading industry suppliers, customized third-party games and a small number of proprietary games that we developed in-house. Third-party content is usually subject to standard revenue-sharing agreements specific to each supplier, where the supplier generally receives a percentage of the net gaming revenue generated from its casino games played on our platform. In exchange, we receive a limited license to offer the games on our platform to customers in permitted jurisdictions. We generally pay much lower fees on revenue generated through our in-house developed casino games such as our multi-bet blackjack (with side bets: 21+3, Lucky Ladies, Lucky Lucky), and single-deck blackjack, which primarily relate to hosting/remote gaming server fees and certain intellectual property license fees.

Online casino revenue is generated based on total customer bets less amounts paid to customers for winning bets, less incentives awarded to customers, plus or minus the change in the progressive jackpot reserve.

Online Sports Betting

Online sports betting involves a user placing a bet on the outcome of a sporting event, a sports-related activity or a series of the same, with the chance to win a pre-determined amount, often referred to as fixed odds. Online sports betting revenue is generated by setting odds such that there is a built-in theoretical margin in each sports bet offered to customers. While sporting event outcomes may result in revenue volatility, we believe that we can achieve a positive long-term betting win margin. In addition to traditional fixed-odds betting, we also offer other fixed-odd sports betting products including in-game betting and multi-sport and same-game parlay betting. We have also incorporated live streaming of certain sporting events into our online sports betting offering.

Integrated into our online sports betting platform is a third-party risk and trading platform currently provided by certain subsidiaries of Kambi Group plc.

Online sports revenue is generated based on total customer bets less amounts paid to customers for winning bets, less incentives awarded to customers, plus or minus the change in unsettled sports bets.

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Retail Sports Betting

We provide retail sports betting services to certain land-based partners in exchange for a monthly commission that is calculated based on the land-based retail sportsbook revenue. Services generally include ongoing management and oversight of the retail sportsbook (i.e., within a bricks-and-mortar location), technical support for such partner’s customers, risk management, advertising and promotion, and support for third-party sports betting equipment.

In addition, certain relationships with our partners provide us the ability to operate the retail sportsbook at the land-based partner’s facility. In this scenario, revenue is generated based on total customer bets less amounts paid to customers for winning bets, less other incentives awarded to customers, plus or minus the change in unsettled retail sports bets.

Social Gaming

We provide social gaming (where permitted) where users can earn or purchase virtual credits to enjoy free-to-play games. Users who exhaust their credits can either purchase additional virtual credits from the virtual cashier or wait until their virtual credits are replenished for free. Virtual credits have no monetary value and can only be used within our social gaming platform.

Our social gaming business has three main goals: build online databases in key markets ahead of and post-legalization and regulation; generate revenues; and increase engagement and visitation to our bricks-and-mortar partner properties. Our social gaming products are a marketing tool that keeps the applicable brands present in the minds of our users and engages with users through another channel while providing the entertainment value that users seek. We also leverage our social gaming products to cross-sell to our real-money offerings in jurisdictions where real-money gaming is authorized.

We recognize deferred revenue when users purchase virtual credits and revenue when those credits are redeemed. We pay a percentage of the social gaming revenue derived from the sale and redemption of the virtual credits to content suppliers as well as to our land-based partners.

Costs and Expenses

Costs of Revenue. Costs of revenue consist primarily of (i) revenue share and market access fees, (ii) platform and content fees, (iii) gaming taxes, (iv) payment processing fees and chargebacks and (v) salaries, bonuses, benefits and share-based compensation for dedicated personnel. These costs are primarily variable in nature and should typically correlate with the change in revenue. Revenue share and market access fees consist primarily of amounts paid to local partners that hold the applicable gaming license, providing us the ability to offer our real-money online offerings in the respective jurisdictions. Our platform and content fees are primarily driven by costs associated with third-party casino content, sports betting trading services and certain elements of our platform technology, such as geolocation and know-your-customer. Gaming taxes primarily relate to state taxes and are determined on a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction basis. We incur payment processing costs on customer deposits and occasionally chargebacks (i.e., when a payment processor contractually disallows customer deposits in the normal course of business).

Advertising and Promotions Costs. Advertising and promotion costs consist primarily of costs associated with marketing our offerings via different channels, promotional activities and related customer acquisition costs. These costs also include salaries, bonuses, benefits and share-based compensation for dedicated personnel and are expensed as incurred.

Our ability to effectively market is critical to our success. Using experience, dynamic learnings and analytics, we leverage marketing to acquire, convert, retain and re-engage customers. We use a variety of earned media and paid marketing channels, in combination with compelling offers, brand ambassadors, proprietary content and unique game and site features, to attract and engage customers. Further, we continuously optimize our marketing spend using data collected from our operations. Our marketing spend is based on a return-on-investment model that considers a variety of factors, including the product offerings in the jurisdiction, the performance of different marketing channels, predicted lifetime value, marginal costs and expenses and behavior of customers across various product offerings.

With respect to paid marketing, we use a broad array of advertising channels, including television, radio, social media platforms, sponsorships, affiliates and paid search, and other digital channels. We also use other forms of marketing and outreach, such as our social media channels, first-party websites, media interviews and other media spots and organic searches. These efforts are primarily concentrated within the specific jurisdictions where we operate or intend to operate.

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We believe there is significant benefit to having a flexible approach to advertising spending as we can quickly redirect our advertising spending based on dynamic testing of our advertising methods and channels.

General Administration and Other. General administration and other expenses consist primarily of administrative personnel costs, including salaries, bonuses and benefits, share-based compensation expense for dedicated personnel, professional fees related to legal, compliance, audit and consulting services, rent and insurance costs.

Depreciation and Amortization. Depreciation and amortization expense consists of depreciation on our property and equipment and amortization of intangible assets (including market access licenses, gaming jurisdictional licenses, internally developed software, trademark and developed technology) and finance lease right-of-use assets over their useful lives. See Notes 2, 5 and 6 to our consolidated financial statements, included elsewhere in this Annual Report.

Results of Operations

The following table sets forth a summary of our consolidated results of operations for the years indicated, and the changes between periods. We have derived this data from our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report. This information should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report. The results of historical periods are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations for any future period.

Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2022 and 2021

Years Ended December 31,Change
($ in thousands)20222021$%
Revenue$592,212$488,105$104,10721%
Costs of revenue414,664332,14582,51925%
Advertising and promotions220,460190,47629,98416%
General administration and other67,56155,51812,04322%
Depreciation and amortization14,3254,24510,080237%
Loss from operations(124,798)(94,279)(30,519)32%
Interest expense, net(573)(187)(386)206%
Change in fair value of earnout interests liability(13,740)13,740(100)%
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities41,802(41,802)(100)%
Loss before income taxes(125,371)(66,404)(58,967)89%
Income tax expense8,9614,6884,27391%
Net loss$(134,332)$(71,092)$(63,240)89%

Revenue. Revenue increased by $104.1 million, or 21%, to $592.2 million in 2022 as compared to $488.1 million in 2021. The increase was mainly due to and directly correlated with our continued growth in the majority of our existing markets, as well as our expansion into new markets such as Ontario, Canada, New York, Mexico, and Maryland, which launched after December 31, 2021. The increase reflects higher period-over-period online casino and sports betting revenue of $96.5 million and retail sports betting revenue of $7.9 million, offset by a decrease in social gaming revenue of $0.3 million.

Costs of Revenue. Costs of revenue increased by $82.5 million, or 25%, to $414.6 million in 2022 as compared to $332.1 million in 2021. The increase was mainly due to and directly correlated with, our expansion and continued growth in existing and new markets. Gaming taxes, operating expenses, payment processing costs, and market access costs contributed $39.8 million, $23.0 million, $10.8 million and $5.4 million, respectively, to the year-over-year increase in costs of revenue, with personnel costs contributing to the remaining $3.5 million of the year-over-year increase. Costs of revenue as a percentage of revenue increased to 70% in 2022 as compared to 68% in 2021.

Advertising and Promotions. Advertising and promotions expense increased by $30.0 million, or 16%, to $220.5 million in 2022 as compared to $190.5 million in 2021. The increase was mainly due to new and increased marketing efforts and strategies in newly entered and existing markets to increase customer awareness and acquisition of our offerings. The Company’s efforts included executing strategic marketing or sponsorship arrangements with professional

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sports teams (including the New Orleans Pelicans and Chicago Bears), former athletes and sports team staff (including NY Mets manager Bobby Valentine, Mark Schlereth, Joakim Noah and James Blake), broadcasting personalities (including broadcast legend Mike Francesa, Canadian sports broadcasting icon Dan O’Toole, Bob McCown and Mike Missanelli), LaLiga, sports venues, podcast organizations and other media-related entities. Advertising and promotions expense as a percentage of revenue decreased to 37% in 2022 as compared to 39% in 2021.

General Administration and Other. General administration and other expense increased by $12.0 million, or 22%, to $67.5 million in 2022 as compared to $55.5 million in 2021. The year-over-year increase was due to higher personnel and other administrative costs, which is consistent with the ongoing growth of our business. General administration and other expense as a percentage of revenue remained flat at 11% for 2022 and 2021.

Depreciation and Amortization. Depreciation and amortization expense increased by $10.1 million, or 237%, to $14.3 million in 2022 as compared to $4.2 million in 2021. The increase was mainly due to additional purchases of property and equipment and other definite-lived intangible assets. Depreciation and amortization expense as a percentage of revenue increased to 2% in 2022 as compared to 1% in 2021.

Interest expense, net. Interest expense, net increased by $0.4 million, or 206%, to $0.6 million in 2022 as compared to $0.2 million in 2021. The increase was mainly attributable to the recognition of additional imputed interest associated with the recognition of deferred royalties, which was partially offset by interest income earned on the Company’s interest-bearing accounts and cash equivalents.

Change in fair value of earnout interests liability. Change in fair value of earnout interests liability was nil in 2022 and $13.7 million in 2021. Gains and losses are attributable to the remeasurement of the liability at fair value and were primarily a result of changes in the underlying share price of our Class A Common Stock. The liability was fully settled during the year ended December 31, 2021.

Change in fair value of warrant liabilities. Change in fair value of warrant liability was nil in 2022 and $41.8 million in 2021. Gains and losses are attributable to the remeasurement of the liability at fair value and were primarily a result of changes in the underlying share price of our Class A Common Stock. The liability was fully settled during the year ended December 31, 2021.

Income tax expense. Income tax expense increased by $4.3 million, or 91%, to $9.0 million in 2022 as compared to $4.7 million in 2021. The increase in income tax expense is attributable to the profitability of our foreign operations for which both current and deferred taxes are recorded. Income tax as a percentage of revenue increased to 2% in 2022 as compared to 1% in 2021.

Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020

A discussion of changes in our results of operations in 2021 compared to 2020 has been omitted from this Form 10-K, but it may be found in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on March 7, 2022, which is available free of charge on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and at www.RushStreetInteractive.com.

Seasonality and Other Trends Impacting Our Business

Our results of operations may, and generally do, fluctuate due to seasonal trends and other factors such as level of customer engagement, online casino and sports betting results and other factors that are outside of our control or that we cannot reasonably predict. Our financial performance depends on our ability to attract and retain customers. Customer engagement in our online offerings may vary due to, among other things, customer satisfaction with our platform, the number, timing and type of sporting events, the length of professional sports seasons, our offerings and those of our competitors, our marketing efforts, climate and weather conditions, public sentiment or macroeconomic conditions. As customer engagement varies, so may our financial performance.

The number and amount of betting losses and jackpot payouts we experience may also impact our quarterly or annual financial results. Although our losses are limited per wager to a maximum payout, when looking at bets across a period of time, these losses can be significant. We offer progressive jackpot games in our online casino offerings. Each time a customer plays a progressive jackpot game, we contribute a portion of the amount bet to the jackpot for that game or group of games. When a progressive jackpot is won, the jackpot is paid out and reset to a predetermined base amount. As winning

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the jackpot is determined by a random mechanism, we cannot foresee when a jackpot will be won and we do not insure against jackpot payouts. Paying the progressive jackpot decreases our cash position and depending upon the size of the jackpot it may have a significant negative affect on our cash flow and financial condition.

Our online sports betting and retail sports betting operations experience seasonality based on the relative popularity and frequency of certain sporting events. Although sporting events occur throughout the year, our online sports betting customers are most active during the NFL, NBA and college football and basketball seasons. In addition, the shortening, delay or cancellation of major sports seasons or events due to events beyond our control such as strikes, lockouts like the MLB lockout that occurred from December 2021 through March 2022, or severe injuries like the one that resulted in the cancellation of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills versus the Cincinnati Bengals game in January 2023, may result in less money bet on sports and prevent us from garnering sufficient interest in our sports betting offerings, which could adversely impact our financial results.

From a legislative perspective, we are continuing to see strong momentum to legalize and regulate online sports betting in new jurisdictions in the Americas. As expected, in many cases these new jurisdictions are first trying to legalize and regulate online sports betting before considering whether to legalize and regulate online casino. However, given the tax generation success of online casino in markets where it has been legalized, we are also continuing to see strong momentum for online casino in several jurisdictions in the Americas that are looking for additional revenue sources to fund expanding budgets.

We operate within the global gaming and entertainment industry, which is comprised of diverse products and offerings that compete for consumers’ time and disposable income. We face and expect to continue to face significant competition from other industry players both within existing and new markets including from competitors with access to more resources, existing assets such as brands or databases, or experience. Customer demands for new and innovative offerings and features require us to continue to invest in new technologies, features and content to improve the customer experience. Many jurisdictions in which we operate or intend to operate in the future have unique regulatory and/or technological requirements, which require us to have robust, scalable networks and infrastructure, and agile engineering and software development capabilities. The global gaming and entertainment industry has seen significant consolidation, regulatory change and technological development over the last few years, and we expect this trend to continue into the foreseeable future, which may create opportunities for us but may also create competitive and margin pressures. We are starting to see some other online gaming operators rationalize their marketing spend in North American jurisdictions, although their marketing spend may vary by quarter depending on, among other things, sports calendars, new market launches and prior commitments.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

We measure liquidity in terms of our ability to fund the cash requirements of our business operations, including working capital and capital expenditure needs, contractual obligations and other commitments, with cash flows from operations. Our current working capital needs relate mainly to supporting our existing businesses, the growth of these businesses in their existing markets and their expansion into other geographic regions, as well as our employees’ compensation and benefits.

We had $179.7 million in cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2022 (excluding customer cash deposits from our real-money customers for all jurisdictions and products, which we segregate from our operating cash balances). We intend to continue to finance our operations without third-party debt and entirely from operating cash flows and cash on our balance sheet for the foreseeable future.

In connection with the Business Combination, we executed the TRA, by and among the Special Limited Partner, RSILP, the Sellers and the Sellers’ representative, which generally provides that the Special Limited Partner pay an amount equal to 85% of certain net tax benefits, if any, that the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries, including the Special Limited Partner, realize (or in certain cases is deemed to realize) as a result of the increases in tax basis and tax benefits related to the transactions contemplated under the Business Combination Agreement and the exchange of Retained RSILP Units for Class A Common Stock (or cash) and tax benefits related to entering into the TRA, including tax benefits attributable to payments under the TRA. Although the actual timing and amount of any payments made under the TRA will vary, such payments may be significant. Any payments made under the TRA will generally reduce the amount of overall cash flow that might have otherwise been available to us and, to the extent that payments required under the TRA are unable to be made for any reason, the unpaid amounts generally will be deferred and will accrue interest until paid. To date, no material payments under the TRA have been made, and no material payments or accrued payments thereunder are

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expected in the near future as payments under the TRA are not owed until the tax benefits generated thereunder are more-likely-than-not to be realized.

We expect our existing cash and cash equivalent and cash flows from operations to be sufficient to fund our operating activities and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next 12 months and thereafter for the foreseeable future. It is possible that we may need additional cash resources due to changed business conditions or other developments, including unanticipated regulatory developments, significant acquisitions, partnerships or marketing initiatives, deteriorating macroeconomic conditions and competitive pressures. We expect our capital expenditures and working capital requirements to continue to increase in the immediate future to support our growth as we seek to expand our offerings across more of North America, Latin America and worldwide, which will require significant investment in our online gaming platform and our personnel, in particular in product development, engineering and operations roles. See Note 16 of our consolidated financial statements, included elsewhere in this Annual Report for a summary of our commitments as of December 31, 2022. We also expect to increase our marketing, advertising and promotional spend in certain existing and new markets, as well as market access fees and license costs as we continue to enter into new market access arrangements with local partners in new jurisdictions. In particular, we are party to several non-cancelable contracts with vendors and licensors for marketing and other strategic partnerships, pursuant to which we are obligated to make future minimum payments under the non-cancelable terms of these contracts. To the extent that our current resources are insufficient to satisfy our cash requirements, we may need to seek additional equity or debt financing. If the needed financing is not available, or if the terms of financing are less desirable than we expect, we may be forced to decrease our level of investment in new product, service or market launches and related marketing initiatives or to scale back our existing operations, which could have an adverse impact on our business and financial prospects. See Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements, included elsewhere in this Annual Report.

We expect our material cash requirements during the upcoming 12-month period to include $21.6 million of non-cancellable purchase obligations with marketing vendors, $7.9 million of license and market access fees and $1.1 million of lease payments. In addition, we will continue to pursue expansion into new markets, which is expected to require significant capital investments. We have $65.3 million of additional non-cancellable purchase obligations including obligations for license and market access fees, arrangements with marketing vendors and lease payments subsequent to the upcoming 12-month period. Management believes our current cash holdings and, if necessary or desirable, various avenues available to pursue funding in the capital markets will suffice to fund these obligations.

As of December 31, 2022, we had no off-balance sheet arrangements.

Debt

As of December 31, 2022, we had no debt outstanding. We have an outstanding letter of credit for $1.7 million in connection with our operations in Colombia, for which no amounts have been drawn as of December 31, 2022.

Cash Flows

The following table shows our cash flows from operating activities, investing activities and financing activities for the stated periods:

Years Ended December 31,
($ in thousands)202220212020
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities$(60,321)$(48,186)$16,179
Net cash used in investing activities(28,990)(37,002)(6,243)
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities(1,216)125,584241,071
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash(3,721)(2,132)515
Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash$(94,248)$38,264$251,522

A discussion of changes in cash flows in 2022 compared to 2021 is included below. A discussion of changes in cash flows in 2021 compared to 2020 has been omitted from this Form 10-K, but it may be found in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended

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December 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on March 7, 2022, which is available free of charge on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and at www.RushStreetInteractive.com.

Operating activities. Net cash used in operating activities was $60.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to $48.2 million used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2021. The increased use of cash reflects a higher period-over-period net loss totaling $63.2 million, which offset by higher non-cash expenses totaling $32.2 million and an increase in working capital changes of $18.8 million. The increase in non-cash expenses totaling $32.2 million was driven primarily by the impact of changes in fair value of warrant liabilities of $41.8 million, an increase in depreciation and amortization expense of $10.1 million, an increase in non-cash lease expense of $0.3 million, offset by the impact of changes in fair value of earnout interests liability of $13.7 million, a decrease in share-based compensation expense of $6.2 million and an increase in deferred tax assets of $0.1 million.

Investing activities. Net cash used in investing activities during 2022 decreased by $8.0 million to $29.0 million, as compared to $37.0 million during 2021. The decrease reflects lower period-over-period costs including decreased gaming license acquisition purchases of $18.0 million, investment in equity of $1.5 million, investment in long-term deposits of $0.1 million and acquisition of developed technology intangible assets of $3.3 million, offset by an increase in cash paid for internally developed software costs of $12.7 million, property and equipment costs of $0.3 million and acquisition of trademark intangible assets of $1.9 million.

Financing activities. Net cash provided by financing activities during 2022 decreased by $126.8 million to net cash used of $1.2 million, as compared to net cash provided of $125.6 million during 2021. The decrease primarily reflects the net proceeds from the exercise of warrants received in 2021 of $131.6 million, which was offset by the decreased costs to repurchase common stock of $3.5 million, decreased principal payments of finance lease liabilities of $0.9 million and decreased distributions paid to non-controlling interest holders of $0.4 million.

Critical Accounting Estimates

We have prepared our consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP. In doing so, management is required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Management bases estimates on historical experience and other assumptions it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances and evaluates these estimates on an on-going basis. Actual results may differ from these estimates. A discussion of our more significant estimates follows. Management has discussed the development, selection and disclosure of these estimates and assumptions with the Audit Committee of the Board. See Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements, included elsewhere in this Annual Report for further information on our critical and other significant accounting policies.

Share-based Compensation (subsequent to the Business Combination)

We have issued stock-based awards with service-based conditions or market-based conditions. Our historical and outstanding share-based compensation awards are described in Note 11 to our consolidated financial statements, included elsewhere in this Annual Report.

Share-based compensation expense is measured based on the grant-date fair value of the stock-based awards and is recognized over the requisite service period of the awards. Following the Business Combination, the fair value of our Class A Common Stock is determined based on the quoted market price. To estimate the fair value of stock option awards, we used the Black-Scholes model, and we used a Monte Carlo simulation to determine the fair value of grants with market-based conditions. Both the Black-Scholes model and the Monte Carlo simulation require management to make a number of key assumptions, including expected volatility, expected term, risk-free interest rate and expected dividends. The risk-free interest rate is estimated using the rate of return on U.S. treasury notes with a life that approximates the expected term. The expected term assumption used in the Black-Scholes model represents the period of time that the options are expected to be outstanding and is estimated using the midpoint between the requisite service period and the contractual term of the option.

The assumptions underlying these valuations represent management’s best estimates, which involve inherent uncertainties and the application of judgment. As a result, if factors or expected outcomes change and our management uses significantly different assumptions or estimates, our share-based compensation expense for future periods could be materially different, including as a result of adjustments to share-based compensation expense recorded for prior periods.

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Share-based Compensation (prior to the Business Combination)

A discussion of Share-based Compensation (prior to the Business Combination) has been omitted from this Form 10-K, but it may be found in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on March 7, 2022, which is available free of charge on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and at www.RushStreetInteractive.com.

Fair value measurements

Fair value measurements are based on the premise that fair value is an exit price representing the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. As a basis for considering such assumptions, we use the following three-tier fair value hierarchy in determining the inputs used in measuring fair value:

•Level 1 – Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities on the reporting date.

•Level 2 – Pricing inputs are based on quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active and model-based valuation techniques for which all significant assumptions are observable in the market or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

•Level 3 – Pricing inputs are generally unobservable and include situations where there is little, if any, market activity for the investment. The inputs into the determination of fair value require management’s judgment or estimation of assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the assets or liabilities. The fair values are therefore determined using factors that involve considerable judgment and interpretations, including but not limited to private and public comparables, third-party appraisals, discounted cash flow models and fund manager estimates.

Financial instruments measured at fair value are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Management’s assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment and considers factors specific to the asset or liability. The use of different assumptions and/or estimation methodologies may have a material effect on estimated fair values and are subject to inherent uncertainty and the application of judgment. Accordingly, the fair value estimates disclosed or initial amounts recorded may not be indicative of the amount that the Company or holders of the instruments could realize in a current market exchange. Financial liabilities subject to fair value measurements on a recurring basis included the Earnout Interests Liability and Warrant Liabilities.

Earnout Interests Liabilities

The earnout interests, as described in Note 9 to our consolidated financial statements, included elsewhere in this Annual Report, were subject to certain restrictions on transfer and voting and potential forfeiture pending the achievement of certain earnout targets. The earnout targets included (a) a change of control within three years of the Closing, (b) achieving certain revenue targets for the year ended December 31, 2021, and (c) achieving certain volume weighted average share prices (“VWAPs”) within three years of the Closing. With respect to the revenue targets for the 2021 year, the percentage of Earnout Interests no longer subject to the restrictions, starting at 25% and ending at 100%, was dependent on achieving revenue equal to $270 million up to $300 million, respectively. With respect to the earnout targets related to VWAPs, the share price must have equaled or exceeded the target price for 10 trading days of any 20 consecutive trading day period. Pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement, a VWAP of $12.00 and $14.00 would have resulted in 50% and 100%, respectively, of the Earnout Interests being no longer subject to the restrictions. Certain of those earnout targets were achieved in January 2021 and, as a result, 100% of the shares and units subject to these restrictions were deemed earned and thus were no longer subject to the restrictions.

We obtained a third-party valuation at December 29, 2020 (i.e., the Closing date) and at December 31, 2020 based upon assumptions regarding share price, maturity, volatility and risk-free rate. The share price represents the trading price as of the valuation date. The maturity assumption represents the time to maturity or expiration of the earnout interest, which was three years. The volatility in the analysis was determined using the Guideline Public Companies’ daily trading activity. Daily volatilities were calculated based on the daily trading activity using a historical lookback period

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commensurate with the maturity. The selected volatility was the average of the Guideline Public Companies’ volatility for the period, which was calculated to be 54.58%. The risk-free rate utilizes the three-year U.S. Treasury bond rate in effect at the time of the grant.

The fair value was determined using a Monte Carlo simulation of 500,000 trials to value the earnout interests as of the valuation date. Within each trial, the Geometric Brownian Motion formula is used to simulate the underlying security price through the life of the earnout interests. In each trial, the 10th largest simulated trading price within any 20-day trading period was observed to determine if and when the earnout interests met either of the threshold values ($12.00 and $14.00) defined in the Trigger Events. Each future value is discounted to the appropriate valuation date at the risk-free rate to determine the value conclusion within each trial. The average of all 500,000 trials yields the overall valuation conclusion. The assumptions, inputs and methodologies we use in determining fair value result in inherent uncertainty due to the application of judgment.

As of December 31, 2022, none of the earnout interests remained outstanding.

Warrant Liabilities

As described in Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements, included elsewhere in this Annual Report, we evaluated the warrants that entitled the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share (the “Public Warrants”), Private Placement Warrants and Working Capital Warrants under ASC 815-40, and concluded that they did not meet the criteria to be classified in stockholders’ equity. Specifically, the exercise of these warrants could have been settled in cash upon the occurrence of a tender offer or exchange that involves 50% or more of our stockholders holding Class A Common Stock. Because not all of the stockholders needed to participate in such tender offer or exchange to trigger the potential cash settlement and we did not control the occurrence of such an event, we concluded that the Public Warrants, Private Placement Warrants and Working Capital Warrants did not meet the conditions to be classified in equity. Because the Public Warrants, Private Placement Warrants and Working Capital Warrants met the definition of a derivative under ASC 815-40, we recorded these warrants as liabilities on our consolidated balance sheet at fair value as of each reporting date, with subsequent changes in their respective fair values recognized in our consolidated statement of operations.

We determined the fair value of our Public Warrants based on the publicly listed trading price of such warrants on the valuation date. We determined the fair value of the Private Placement Warrants and Working Capital Warrants using Level 3 inputs within a Black-Scholes model. The Private Placement Warrants and Working Capital Warrants were valued as of December 29, 2020 (i.e., the Closing date) and December 31, 2020. The significant inputs and assumptions in this method were the stock price, exercise price, volatility, risk-free rate, and term or maturity. The underlying stock price input was the closing stock price as of each valuation date and the exercise price was the price as stated in the warrant agreement. The volatility input was determined using the historical volatility of comparable publicly traded companies which operated in a similar industry or were our direct competitors. Volatility for each comparable was calculated as the annualized standard deviation of daily continuously compounded returns. The Black-Scholes analysis was performed in a risk-neutral framework, which required a risk-free rate assumption based upon constant-maturity treasury yields, which were interpolated based on the remaining term of the Private Placement Warrants and Working Capital Warrants as of each valuation date. The term/maturity was the duration between each valuation date and the maturity date, which was five years following the Closing date, or December 29, 2025.

As of December 31, 2022, none of the warrants remained outstanding.

Income Taxes

We account for income taxes using the asset and liability method. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are calculated by applying existing tax laws and the rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect of a change in tax rates on deferred tax assets and liabilities is recognized in the year of the enacted rate change.

We regularly review our deferred tax assets, including net operating loss carryovers, for recoverability, and a valuation allowance is provided when it is more likely than not that some portion or all of a deferred tax asset may not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which the temporary differences are deductible. In assessing the need for a valuation allowance, we make estimates and

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assumptions regarding projected future taxable income, our ability to carry back operating losses to prior periods, the reversal of deferred tax liabilities and the implementation of tax planning strategies. Based on our cumulative earnings history and forecasted future sources of taxable income, we have determined we are not more-likely-than-not to realize existing deferred tax assets and thus have recorded a valuation allowance. As we reassess these assumptions in the future, changes in forecasted taxable income may alter this expectation and may result in an increase to the valuation allowance and an increase in the effective tax rate.

We account for uncertainty in income taxes using a recognition and measurement threshold for tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return, which are subject to examination by federal and state taxing authorities. The tax benefit from an uncertain tax position is recognized when it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities based on technical merits of the position. The amount of the tax benefit recognized is the largest amount of the benefit that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. The effective tax rate and the tax basis of assets and liabilities reflect management’s estimates of the ultimate outcome of various tax uncertainties. We recognize penalties and interest related to uncertain tax positions within the provision (benefit) for income taxes line in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.

Tax Receivable Agreement

Pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreement, the Special Limited Partner is required to pay to the Sellers and/or the exchanging holders of RSILP Units, as applicable, 85% of the net income tax savings that we and our consolidated subsidiaries (including the Special Limited Partner) realize as a result of increases in tax basis in RSILP’s assets related to the transactions contemplated under the Business Combination Agreement and the future exchange of the Retained RSILP Units (for shares of Class A Common Stock (or cash) pursuant to the RSILP A&R LPA and tax benefits related to entering into the Tax Receivable Agreement, including tax benefits attributable to payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement, and those payments may be substantial.

We evaluate the realizability of the deferred tax assets resulting from the exchange of RSILP Units for Class A Common Stock. If the deferred tax assets are determined to be realizable, we then assess whether payment of amounts under the TRA have become probable. If so, we record a TRA liability equal to 85% of such deferred tax assets. In subsequent periods, we assess the realizability of all our deferred tax assets subject to the TRA. Should it be determined that a deferred tax asset with a valuation allowance is realizable in a subsequent period, the related valuation allowance will be released and consideration of a corresponding TRA liability will be assessed. The realizability of deferred tax assets, including those subject to the TRA, is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those deferred tax assets become deductible and consideration of prudent and feasible tax-planning strategies.

The measurement of the TRA liability is accounted for as a contingent liability. Therefore, once we determine that a payment becomes probable and can be estimated, the estimate of the payment will be accrued.

Recently Adopted and Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Recently issued and adopted accounting pronouncements are described in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.

Emerging Growth Company Accounting Election

Section 102(b)(1) of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (“JOBS Act”) exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can choose not to take advantage of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies, and any such election to not take advantage of the extended transition period is irrevocable. RSI is an “emerging growth company” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and has elected to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period. The Company remains an emerging growth company and is expected to continue to take advantage of the benefits of the extended transition period. This may make it difficult or impossible to compare the Company financial results with the financial results of another public company that is either not an emerging growth company or is an emerging growth company that has chosen not to take advantage of the extended transition period exemptions for emerging growth companies because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

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