Circa Sports announced a new addition to the Kentucky sports betting market on Thursday, as it plans to open a temporary retail sportsbook at the Mint Gaming Hall Kentucky Downs.
According to a press release, the temporary sportsbook will open on Aug. 12, in time for the college football and NFL betting seasons. Circa’s temporary build-out will feature multiple betting windows and KY sports betting kiosks. The larger, permanent addition to Kentucky’s NFL sportsbooks will open next summer.
“Having the agreement with Circa and getting the regulators involved, everything started a few months back,” John Wholihan, marketing director for Mint Gaming Hall, told LSR on Thursday. “It got done on time, and that’s not a guarantee for every property to have their brick-and-mortar running before football season. We were able to, and it works out for everyone.”
Appeal for in-person KY sports betting
The Mint Gaming Hall in Franklin, KY, will be the closest in-person sportsbook to Nashville, TN.
With Tennessee sports betting strictly online and no casino gambling in the Volunteer State, Nashville has been an important market for the Mint.
“You could sit home in Tennessee and make your bets on the phone,” Wholihan said. “You can also come to Kentucky and have mobile sports betting here. The missing component was being able to watch the game on big screens and not be on the phone. It has a more traditional feel, and that is what we’re appealing to.”
Horses meet NFL Week 1 betting
Kentucky Downs hosts a short thoroughbred racing season, only seven days.
Two of those days, Thursday, Sept. 5, and Sunday, Sept. 8, will feature live horse racing alongside opening weekend for NFL betting.
“There are a couple of different crowds there, but generally, the horseplayer is also betting on sports,” Wholihan said. “The person that’s there for the machines and the restaurants, sports betting will be available to them, but we’re going to have a lot going on after the races when the NFL season kicks off that Thursday.”
Early Kentucky sports betting returns
In-person Kentucky sportsbooks launched nearly a year ago, at the start of the NFL season. The KY sports betting apps followed a few weeks later.
Retail operations, like the one at Red Mile Gaming and Racing in Lexington, found the go-live date at the beginning of football season beneficial. Through June, total Kentucky sports betting handle reached nearly $2.11 billion, with $79 million coming from in-person betting.
Kentucky became Circa Sports’ fifth market when it started taking bets there in May. Through its first six weeks, the Circa Sports app generated $53,200 in revenue from $1.6 million in KY sports betting handle.
