Circa Sports officially enters the Colorado market today (July 1).
It’s the first foray outside of Nevada for the Las Vegas-based company.
Circa Sports operates a retail book in Las Vegas, so Colorado also represents their first attempt at mobile sports wagering.
In February, it was announced that Circa Sports had secured a market access deal with Century Casinos.
Century Casinos has been approved for three sports betting licenses in Colorado. There are two in Cripple Creek and one in Central City.
The casino announced in May it also had an agreement with Bet365 to launch a mobile sportsbook. Both Circa Sports and Bet365 will operate in conjunction with Century Casinos’ Cripple Creek locations.
Meanwhile, the license in Central City is still up for grabs.
Uncharted territory for Circa Sports
As for Circa Sports, the hope is that it can establish its brand in Colorado and make a dent in a market that is starting to become ultra-competitive.
Circa Sports is the ninth sports betting app to launch in Colorado since sports betting became official on May 1. That first month of sports betting in Colorado brought in a handle of $25.5 million — with just four sportsbooks for most of the month and no major US sports.
“We’re pretty excited to get into Colorado,” Circa Sports owner Derek Stevens said to Legal Sports Report. “It’s a remote registration, remote funding state, so we’re going to have a little bit of learning with that. But I think Colorado did a great job with the way they structured their regulations. I think there’s going to be a heck of a great market for everybody.”
Attracting new customers
One way sportsbooks have tried to lure customers to their product is with bonuses.
Stevens told LSR that Circa Sports will do the same, but with a twist.
“We believe, obviously, bonusing works and such but it’s a little bit different,” Stevens told the website. “… if you take a look at a golf pool, we’re going to put up 144 golfers. If there’s that many in the pool, you’re going to be able to shop and be able to say, ‘OK, I can get this guy at 22-1 versus 18-1. I can get this guy at 80-1 where the best you can get is 50-1.’ So we’re really focusing a little bit more on low hold and providing people the best value.
“We’re not going to shy away from the sharps and we’re not going to shy away from the large bets. That’s something that Circa’s done here in its year of existence in Nevada. We’re willing to take a lot of six-figure bets and we think that’s going to be another differentiating factor for Circa in Colorado.”
Circa Sports partners with IGT
As for who will power the Circa Sports app, that decision rests with International Game Technology (IGT). It was announced in late April the two major players had partnered up to bring more mobile betting options to Colorado bettors.
IGT PlaySports is currently powering sports betting across 11 states and at venues ranging from commercial and tribal-run casinos to lottery-run destinations and a high-profile racetrack.
“Together with Circa Sports, IGT will expand its PlaySports footprint into Colorado,” Enrico Drago, IGT PlayDigital senior vice president, said in the press release announcing the deal with Circa. “Circa Sports is a forward-thinking sports betting provider. We look forward to helping them realize their vision of entertaining users with leading multi-state sports betting experiences through our PlaySports technology and services.”
Sports bettors in Colorado have another option at their disposal. Time will tell if Circa Sports can make a dent in a burgeoning market.
