Circa Sports expands to Illinois via New American Place Casino

Circa Sports will operate Full House Resorts’ sportsbook.

US.- Circa Sports and Full House Resorts have announced a deal, in which the sportsbook will enter Illinois via the New American Place casino. The venue will be built in Waukegan, Wisconsin.

Circa Sports will operate Full House’s retail sportsbook at a temporary venue, The Temporary by American Place, which is expected to open in the fall. The temporary venue is expected to be open for 12 to 24 months while the permanent venue is under construction.

Full House’s Waukegan location was granted a casino licence in the 2019 gaming expansion bill that legalised sports wagering in Illinois.

Circa Sports founder and CEO, Derek Stevens, said: “We are thrilled to introduce our industry-leading sports betting and hospitality experience to Illinois. We have developed incredible relationships with Midwest bettors at our Las Vegas casinos, so to bring our product to the great state of Illinois is a major milestone for us.”

Alex Stolyar, chief development officer of Full House Resorts, added: “We promised Illinois a premium gaming and entertainment facility, and that includes a first-class sportsbook experience. We witnessed how Derek and his team have revolutionized the sports betting and viewing experience at Circa, and knew that they would be the right partner for American Place.”

Illinois sports betting handle drops to $679m in February

Illinois sportsbooks took $679m in bets in February. It’s the first time since September that the handle has fallen below $700m, a represents a 21.8 per cent drop from the record $867.5m wagered in January. The figures reported by the Illinois Gaming Board were however up 33.3 per cent from February 2021’s $509.8m.

Betting volume reached $23.4m per day, somewhat lower than January’s $28m-per-day figure. The mobile sports betting handle was $652.3m, 21.3 per cent less than January’s $829.1m, but 33.1 per cent higher than February 2021’s $490.2m.