2021 NCAA Tournament Recap: Circa’s First March Mayhem
Circa Sports led the charge into this year’s March Mayhem by posting the first lines in the world on the opening round of games. As America tuned in to watch Selection Sunday, Circa Sports instantaneously posted lines on all 32 games for wagering and proceeded to accept limit bets of $10,000 on both the mobile app and over the counter. The action was fast and furious, and when things calmed down, we had written enough in wagers to help shape the lines for most of the country and the world.
Raising the Limits on Basketball Betting
The key to how Circa Sports accepts large wagers to help shape the line while still managing to make money is in how we stagger our limits. For example, we may open a game for wagering with $10,000 limits with the intent of taking bets from professional bettors, but as we approach the start of a game we will proceed to raise the limits gradually until the day of when we might take say $100,000 limits. The thought is that we get to the right number quickly utilizing superior information, and then write the majority of the bets for higher limits at the correct number.
Opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament was a back-and-forth battle between the sportsbook and the bettors. Bettors got the best of us on the Saturday/Monday games, while the sportsbook came out ahead on Friday and Sunday.
As we entered the tournament, we had built up solid winning positions on teams like Houston, Gonzaga, and U Conn in our futures pool, while teams like Iowa, Illinois, and Ohio State presented problems for the house. Ohio State getting upset early was a definite positive for the sportsbook, but teams such as Loyola Chicago and Oral Roberts presented an unanticipated risk for us as they made their Cinderella runs.
Circa Sports’ First NCAA Tournament
The number of new visitors we saw to our sportsbook at Circa Las Vegas over the course of the 2 weeks was incredible. Though socially distanced and at limited capacity, we were able to welcome and visit with guests from all over who were ecstatic to be experiencing the tournament at all of our amazing venues. Stadium Swim provided what was perhaps the most unique basketball viewing experience ever afforded to fans, as guests lounged in both cabanas and pools in near-perfect conditions while rooting on their favorite teams.
Seeing the Circa sportsbook venues come to life over the course of the tournament transformed our wildest dreams into a reality as we saw people from all over the country join together to celebrate college basketball. The sportsbook became a coliseum of sorts with people at every angle peering in to get a glimpse of who would be the next team to fall by the wayside. When it was all said and done, Baylor was the only team left standing, and the 2021 NCAA Tournament provided an incredible preview of what will surely be years of incredible sports theater to come at Circa Sports.
– Matt Metcalf (@MMpact)