Circa Sports awarded Arizona betting license through tribal partnership

August 4, 2026  ·  2 min read

The Arizona Department of Gaming awarded a sports betting license to Circa Sports through the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe on Monday, concluding a reallocation process that began in June and setting the stage for the Las Vegas-based operator to launch in its seventh state in early 2027.

The license Arizona awarded to Circa had previously been held by Betway, which exited the entire U.S. market last year after partnering with the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe. The tribe’s new partnership with Circa will bring the operator to Arizona alongside its existing markets in Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, and Nevada.

Circa Sports Director of Operations Jeff Benson confirmed the operator will not launch in time for the upcoming football season, stating on social media that the company is targeting Q1 of 2027.

Arizona’s license reallocation process

Arizona law reserves half of the state’s 20 available sports wagering licenses for tribal operators, with the remaining 10 going to professional sports franchises. When licenses go unused, the Arizona Department of Gaming reviews and reopens the application process.

The department accepted applications during a two-week window beginning June 26 for one tribal license and one professional franchise license. Monday’s announcement addressed only the tribal license awarded to Circa Sports Arizona LLC as the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe’s designated operator. The state has not yet announced a recipient for the professional franchise license that was available.

Legal sports betting launched in Arizona in 2021. Since then, the state has recorded $35.3 billion in total handle, generating approximately $190.6 million in tax revenue, according to state data.

Circa’s market strategy

Circa represents a different approach in the U.S. sports betting landscape dominated by FanDuel and DraftKings. Where those tech-first operators rushed to launch in nearly every available state after the 2018 PASPA decision, Circa has expanded more deliberately while marketing itself as willing to accept action other sportsbooks refuse, positioning the brand to appeal to sharper bettors.

The operator launched multimillion-dollar pro football pick’em and survivor contests to compete with the Westgate Superbook’s SuperContest. Circa also releases college football lines earlier than other regulated operators each week, building a reputation as a market maker in that space.

Owner Derek Stevens launched Circa Sports at the Golden Gate in downtown Las Vegas in June 2019, then opened the Circa Resort in late 2020 with the Stadium Swim venue as a centerpiece. The company has since scaled nationally, including securing one of Missouri’s untethered sports betting licenses last year for $500,000.

Stevens told SBC Americas last year he wasn’t intimidated competing against the industry’s dominant players. “No one expects us to win,” he said at the time. “The pressure’s not really on us, it’s on the other guys because no one expects us to get one. And if we do, then holy smokes, that’ll be a big upset.”