Las Vegas-based company, Circa Sports, recently launched its mobile sports betting app in Kentucky, partnering with ECL Corbin’s Cumberland Run harness track.
Circa Goes Live
Circa Sports, through a licensing agreement with Cumberland Run, a harness track located in Corbin, Kentucky, has launched its sports betting app in the Bluegrass State. This is the fifth state in which Circa has gone live with its mobile wagering platform and will join Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, and Circa’s home state of Nevada.
“We are thrilled to launch Circa Sports in the great state of Kentucky,” said Derek Stevens, CEO of Circa Sports. “We’ve always had our sights set here as we know it is a major hub for college sports, horse racing, and more. We are looking forward to providing Kentucky bettors with some of the best odds and expertise out there.”
Better Late Than Never
The Bluegrass State has plenty of sports betting options including BetMGM, Caesars, ESPNBET, DraftKings, Bet365, Fanatics, FanDuel, and now Circa Sports. Although the other seven launched on September 28, 2023, the first day mobile sports betting was permitted, Circa has bided its time. However, the time was apparently right for Stevens and his old-school Vegas-style brand for Circa to jump into its fifth betting market.
Unlike many of the major national brands, Circa has separated itself from the pack by taking higher limits, offering tighter money lines and catering to what many would call the “sharps” of the industry. It’s a refreshing change from some of the sterilized online sports betting platforms that are quick to limit winning bettors.
Stevens’ vision for his company’s own mobile sports betting brand was much like the casinos he runs in Las Vegas and other markets. He wanted an “old-school Las Vegas hospitality, where our guests and oddsmakers interact closely in a friendly and fun environment.”
“What we do differently than others, is provide value to the wagering consumer. We don’t limit customers and we take big bets. We run our own model,” added Stevens.
Circa Plans Retail Sportsbook
And for those Kentuckians who enjoy the ambiance of an old-fashioned, brick-and-mortar sportsbook, Circa is working on that as well.
Before the launch, Stevens explained, “We will open our Circa Sports Kentucky mobile app first, and then we are going to build a retail sportsbook a bit further down the road. That’s going to happen towards the end of 2024.”
“The retail book will be located right on the Kentucky-Tennessee border. We’re very excited about the growth potential. There’s going to be a tremendous amount of wagering action coming out of Kentucky because it’s such a hotbed of sports for baseball, for basketball, for football. Kentucky’s going to be a great state for wagering.”
For the time being, Kentucky bettors can get a feel for Circa’s mobile sports betting offerings in what has already proven to be a fiercely competitive market. In the first six months of sports wagering, Kentucky reported a combined handle of $1.87 billion with $1.30 billion bet online while $57.3 million was wagered at retail sportsbooks.
