Circa Sports Could Add California to Expansion List
- 11 Oct 2024
- Gambling News
Circa Sports is applying its typical sensible and considered strategy to enter new states, but an unexpected territory has caught the company’s attention: California.
In a conversation with The Las Vegas Review-Journal, Circa's co-founder and CEO Derek Stevens stated that if the neighboring state of Nevada allows sports betting with an in-person sign-up condition, Circa would eagerly take the opportunity to establish a physical sportsbook in the state's largest population center.
Among the states that now provide mobile sports betting, Nevada is notable — potentially for negative reasons — as it mandates that bettors wishing to have mobile accounts visit casinos to complete forms. Other states lack that requirement, and specialists think it is damaging sports betting income in Nevada.
Stevens informed The Review-Journal that should California implement a model akin to Nevada's, retail sportsbooks in the Golden State might become major job creators while attracting “huge investments.” Circa Sports is presently functioning in Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, and Nevada.
How Circa Sports Might Appear in California
If Circa Sports were to establish a presence in California, it would almost certainly be through a collaboration with a tribal gaming organization. Tribes of Native Americans govern the casinos in that state and hold exclusive gaming agreements with the state.
During the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas earlier this week, California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) Chairman James Siva mentioned that there is a possibility sports betting may appear on the 2026 ballot, although he indicated that 2028 seems more probable. He mentioned that tribes in the states are considering sports betting as a possible precursor to iGaming.
During the interview with The Review-Journal, Stevens did not address how Circa Sports plans to collaborate with tribal operators in California. Nonetheless, it is essential in that condition.
Circa has several advantages in California. Initially, the operator possesses a respectable level of brand recognition in that area. Secondly, and of greater significance, Circa Sports did not participate with the coalition of commercial operators that advocated for a 2022 sports betting ballot initiative that conflicted with California tribal gaming organizations. The tribes swiftly defeated that initiative, which was seen as harmful to the companies’ relations with the tribes.
Expansion of Circa May Follow Technology Initiatives
Like many competitors, Circa Sports is moving its technology stack in-house — a process that Stevens admitted is taking more time than he wishes. He informed The Review-Journal that it might require an additional year for completion, which would be the moment the sportsbook operator considers expanding into new states.
Besides the previously stated interest in California, Stevens did not specify which states Circa Sports might expand into next.
The operator has repeatedly stated that New York is unappealing because of its sports betting tax system. Due to advantageous tax conditions, Arizona might be a contender for Circa's expansion, similar to Michigan, which is Stevens' home state, yet the company has not made any statements regarding these options.
