Happy Circa Sports Day, Colorado! The operator that has changed the game in a very short period of time in Las Vegas has officially launched its app in the Centennial State through its partnership with Century Casinos.
For the time being, the Circa Sports app in Colorado will run out of the official Circa headquarters at the Golden Gate Hotel & Casino in downtown Las Vegas. It is the oldest property on Fremont Street and the soon-to-be newest one is the Circa Resort and Casino that will be completed in December. Both are owned by Derek Stevens, who is a trailblazer and an innovator in Sin City.
Circa’s entry into what is already a robust and energetic Colorado sports betting market is going to be fun to watch. When Circa started in 2019 with retail sportsbooks at Golden Gate and The D in Las Vegas and also a mobile betting app, they immediately changed the game with low theoretical hold percentages on futures, two-way betting on futures, and a legitimate player-forward focus.
They quickly became the most preferred book for sharp bettors and a hub for sharp action as a brand-new operator in a market that had embraced sports betting for well over 50 years.
The ceiling for Circa in the Rocky Mountain State is a really interesting debate. They are not offering a sign-up bonus like other apps, including DraftKings, BetRivers, BetMGM, and FanDuel, with the belief that their industry-leading odds and low margins on futures are essentially a bonus for account holders.
Nevada is more of a professional sports betting market than Colorado, where recreational action makes up nearly all of the betting handle at this point in time. Will Circa’s reputation follow from Nevada to Colorado? From hobbyists and weekend warriors to those that either want to bet professionally or use wagering as a supplement, Circa has drawn high marks, but not everybody in a newer sports betting market will gravitate towards Circa over the betting heavyweights that are already national brands.
The fact that Circa allows parlays on futures will most definitely be something that resonates with the novice bettor looking at sports betting like playing the lottery. Betting a little to win a lot is the dream of just about every recreational player and Circa’s stance on parlaying futures does allow that to be a possibility.
By offering really fair odds, two-way futures betting, extensive prop catalogs, and high limits, Circa has become a titan of the industry in its own right in a short period of time. Las Vegas, though, has limited competition. Only a handful of operators control the vast majority of the city’s sportsbooks. Colorado, when all is said and done, could have more than 25 different companies that take action.
The Circa Sports Million and the Circa Survivor contests have drawn a lot of attention to the sportsbook. It remains to be seen whether or not Circa will introduce those contests in Colorado. Due to gambling restrictions across state borders in the United States, those that live outside of Nevada have to employ a proxy to put in picks for those contests. Those in Colorado that want to sign up would face the same policy, but Circa could also fire up its own contests in the state.
Colorado is just the tip of the iceberg for Circa as far as expansion plans. Tennessee would be a logical step for Circa, as that state will be all mobile and online only with no land-based casinos. They could also set up shop in existing sports betting markets like Michigan, which is the home state for Derek Stevens.
It would not be the least bit shocking to see Circa partner with one of the Native American casinos to get a foothold in The Wolverine State. Stevens has two dining spots in The D, Zingerman’s and American Coney Island, that pay homage to his home state. Putting a sports betting app in Michigan would likely be a personal project of his.
With Circa Sports on board as of July 1, the state of Colorado now has BetMGM, BetMonarch, BetRivers, DraftKings, FanDuel, Fox Bet, Smarkets, and Sky Ute active in the state.
