Sports bettors in Illinois eagerly anticipating the arrival of a popular Las Vegas operator may finally have some answers. What’s become a long, drawn-out process since Circa applied for a legal sports betting license to operate in Illinois in May 2022 is finally getting closer to reality.
As Circa has worked through getting cleared by the Illinois Gaming Board, the timeline for the last few months has been “sometime in 2023” for a launch. However, Circa Sports Marketing Manager Aaron Oster told the Chicago Tribune this week that the hope is to launch in the third quarter of 2023.
Circa is looking to open up its first sportsbook at American Place, a new casino development being constructed outside of Chicago in Waukegan. A partnership was formed last year with American Place's parent company Full House when Circa applied for an Illinois license.
The plan is to go mobile and launch a retail location at American Place’s makeshift casino "The Temporary" when final approvals from the gaming commission are received.
Partnership to watch
Circa Sports and developer Derek Stevens have become a recognized name in Las Vegas, where it operates the world’s largest sportsbook at Circa Resort & Casino. It also runs sportsbooks at The D Las Vegas and the Golden Gate, while Circa’s mobile sports betting app is currently live in both Colorado and Iowa.
That brand name should do well for sports betting in Illinois, as the market has matured into one of the country's most successful. The Land of Lincoln has reported four consecutive months of billion-dollar handles, and Illinois operators produced $96 million in revenue in January.
FanDuel, DraftKings, Barstool Sportsbook, BetRivers, Caesars, PointsBet, and BetMGM are all licensed and operating online sports betting sites in Illinois. They also all have partnerships with retail locations throughout the state.
