Circa Climbing Ranks of Nevada Online Sportsbook Operators

Posted on: July 27, 2023, 03:10h. 

Last updated on: July 27, 2023, 03:16h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Circa Sports is one of the youngest competitors in Nevada’s online sports betting landscape. It’s also one of the fastest-growing.

Circa Survivor
Circa Sportsbook in downtown Las Vegas. The operator is carving out solid market share in Nevada’s online sports betting market. (Image: Las Vegas Weekly)

In the four years since its debut, the Nevada iteration of the Circa Sports mobile app has market share in the state of approximately 11%, according to research firm Eilers & Krejcik Gaming (EKG). That puts the operator in a brewing competition with Red Rock Resorts’ STN Sports app for the third spot in the Silver State.

Circa is playing something of a different game to most operators, with its high limit, low-hold model versus the feature-rich SGP-heavy approach of leading operators,” noted EKG.

Said another way, Circa has developed a reputation for being “a bettor’s book” because the operator doesn’t turn away sharp action. Many rivals on the US sports betting stage do, opting to position themselves as avenues of entertainment while enticing smaller bettors with long odds offerings, such as same-game parlays (SGPs).

Circa Nevada Ascent Impressive

Currently, sports betting is live and legal in 34 states and in Washington, DC. Some of those states, — Arkansas, Mississippi, and Washington State are examples — don’t offer mobile betting. Of the ones that do, the vast majority allow bettors to sign up for accounts via their computers or smartphones.

Nevada does not. In Nevada, bettors who want to sign up for a mobile sports betting account must visit a brick-and-mortar casino and fill out paperwork. That makes Circa’s rise in its home state all the more impressive because the operator’s roster of physical sportsbooks is dwarfed in number by rivals BetMGM and Caesars Entertainment’s William Hill brand.

In Nevada, Circa sportsbooks are located at its namesake venue and at the D and Golden Gate casinos, all in downtown Las Vegas, as well as at the Tuscany Suites & Casino and the Pass Casino in Henderson. The operator entered Northern Nevada last year through a partnership with the Legends Bay Casino in Sparks.

Conversely, BetMGM parent MGM Resorts International is the largest casino operator on the Las Vegas Strip while Caesars runs 15 gaming venues across the state, explaining why those companies control about 68.5% of the online sports betting market in Nevada, according to EKG estimates.

Circa Has Advantages

In addition to its reputation as the sportsbook that embraces sharp bettors, Circa has other advantages in terms of adding market share in Nevada. For example, its annual NFL contests, Circa Million and Circa Survivor, attract thousands of participants. To sign up, participants must visit a land-based Circa sportsbook.

For many, that’s part of the fun because Circa is home to the world’s largest sportsbook and its Stadium Swim has rapidly become one of the premier pool scenes at any Las Vegas casino resort.

Circa’s ability to cobble together market share in its home state is pivotal for another reason. It’s likely just a matter of time before DraftKings and FanDuel enter Nevada and, when that happens, those operators could disrupt entrenched competitors. However, Circa could endure and thrive in that scenario because it operates on a different model than those firms.