ST. LOUIS\u2014The CEO of Circa Sports (Circa), Derek Stevens, sat down with Spectrum News this week to discuss their thoughts on the first few months of legalized sports gambling in the Show-Me state and the sports book\u2019s plans going forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe took a little bit of a different approach than (other sports books),\u201d said Stevens. \u201cWe knew that there was going to be a substantial amount of frenzy and chaos in December and I\u2019m glad to report that we were profitable.\u201d<\/p>\n
State elected officials were sour on the first month\u2019s returns from the 14 sports books<\/a>. Stevens says to get a good idea of state returns, analysts should wait until January or February of next year after each sports season has gone by.<\/p>\n How it started in Missouri for Circa\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Circa paid its taxes in both December and January since it didn\u2019t spend nearly as much as some others, per Stevens. Instead of pumping a lot of advertising dollars into the Missouri market last year, Circa took a slower approach.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not doing the volume that others are but I feel very comfortable\u2014We plan on continuing to grow our market share quarter by quarter, (sports) season by season.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u201csmaller\u201d sportsbook won one of the two untethered sports gambling licensees in Missouri last August<\/a> before partnering with the St. Louis Blues from day one and the Kansas City Royals last month.<\/p>\n Circa was in five states before Missouri, and the sports gambling regulations established<\/a> was a \u201cgood\u201d environment for them. Stevens adds that he\u2019s happy with Circa\u2019s growth across all of the states that it\u2019s in, except Illinois, where each wager is taxed<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIllinois has changed the regulatory environment, changed the goalposts twice since we\u2019ve been legal there. I would not have wanted Illinois under the current rules.\u201d<\/p>\n Though profitable and regulations Circa is comfortable; the first month wasn\u2019t all 777s. It saw some difficulties verifying users.<\/p>\n \u201cWe definitely ran into a bit of a software issue\u2014we had a handful of \u2018like, you got to be kidding me\u2019 moments, but I feel pretty good about now where we\u2019re going.\u201d<\/p>\n He adds that in the first month, Circa\u2019s third-party provider for license verification required all information to be accurate to the T or the application will be held back.<\/p>\n Missouri\u2019s first Circa exclusive campaign\n<\/p>\n \u201cWin Derek\u2019s Wallet\u201d is the first state-exclusive campaign Circa is doing for Missouri. Until March 15, people may wager varying amounts starting at $100 to earn a share of the $250,000 pot. The prize money will be divided evenly amongst the shares.<\/p>\n Bettors may earn one share by wagering $100 or more, a second share by betting $1,000 or more, and a third share by betting $5,000. Stevens said the first day of campaign was off to a great start with a lot of sign-ups.<\/p>\n Kansas City Royals\n<\/p>\n Royals fans can expect to see Circa’s presence while at home or at Kauffman Stadium.\u00a0 The sportsbook will air numerous commercials during all 162 regular season games. Both people at home and in attendance will see game-specific bets.<\/p>\n Circa signage decorates the right outfield wall and Stevens plans for the sports book to have fun with people in the front row there. Their plans for St. Louis Cardinals fans will release at a later time.<\/p>\n Since the World Cup this year is being played partly in the United States, Circa\u2019s CEO is excited for its impact on sports gambling. Half-a-dozen of the World Cup matches will be played in Kansas City, Mo.<\/p>\n How new players on sports teams help sportsbooks\n<\/p>\n