Gaming in Arizona contributed $129 million to the state through tribal gaming and event wagering and fantasy sports after its legalization in April.
According to the Arizona Department of Gaming, Governor Doug Ducey signed a landmark agreement between the state and Arizona tribes, allowing tribal casinos to offer Vegas-style table games, permitting event wagering and fantasy sports throughout the state.
Tribal gaming brought in $113.6 million to the Arizona Benefits Fund, including more than $21 million during the last calendar quarter.
Ted Vogt, director of ADG, stated: “Without a doubt, newly legalized casino games, event wagering and fantasy sports have already increased revenues to the state and will continue to do so for years to come”.
Event wagering and fantasy sports garnered more than $15 million for the state general fund in September and October. Operators in the state paid more than $14 million in licensing fees and more than $1 million to operate the new games.
“Arizona’s event wagering & fantasy sports is off to a strong start here in the state and will only increase as the market matures. We worked diligently with the public and stakeholders to efficiently and responsibly set up these industries in just under five months, and we are starting to see the culmination of this hard work”, Vogt concluded.
The ADG also provided a year-end report on the first two months of regulated sports betting figures Friday, with figures that positioned the state as the top 10 market nationally. The two retail venues and nine mobile operators (eight were taking wagers in September) reported more than $777 million in wagers combined for September and October, with the $291.2 million in September debuting among the six states that launched commercial operations through the first 11 months of 2021.
Arizona also edged out Nevada for the highest handle of any state in the first month of operations in the post-PASPA era that began June 2018.
With the popularity of NFL wagering in general and the Cardinals in the thick of the NFC West race as well as the reigning NBA Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns entering the new year with a 27-8 record, it is almost certain that Arizona will be the fastest to $1 billion in handle when the ADG releases its November numbers.
Arizona’s handle of $486 million for October ranked seventh among the 24 states accepting wagers that contributed to a record national monthly handle of more than $7.5 billion. While the number was aided by October having 5 weekends, it still had a 37.8% increase from September’s $5.5 billion wagered record.
The hold in September was 10.9%, which ranked 10th among the 23 states in action and resulted in more than $31.6 million in gross revenue from two retail sportsbooks – Caesars and FanDuel – and eight mobile operators – Caesars, FanDuel, BetMGM, TwinSpires, DraftKings, Barstool Sportsbook, Unibet and WynnBET.
However, those mobile operators flooded the market so thoroughly the entirety of the $31.2 million in revenue generated was considered promotional play and, therefore, unable to be taxed by the state. Arizona state coffers collected just $31,393 in tax receipts in September from the 8% rate on retail revenue totaling $392,418 from Caesars and FanDuel.
October saw a notable increase in taxable revenue, with Rush Street Interactive enterting the fray on the mobile side for a ninth operator. The gross revenue reached $36.3 million during the 10th month of the year, up 14.8% from the first month, as the dip in hold to 7.5% was more than offset by the 66.9% increase in handle. The adjusted revenue, however, increased more than 25-fold to more than $10.3 million, allowing the state to collect more than $1 million in tax receipts for October.
DraftKings and FanDuel ranked 1-2 in online handle through the first two months of action, with DraftKings accountiny for nearly one-third of the $767.4 million online handle at $249.1 million. FanDuel represented nearly one of every four mobile dollars wagered at 22.7% ($173.9 million). BetMGM, though, emerged as a relatively strong No. 3 with $151 million, good for just shy of 20% of all online handle.
Caesars was the only other outfit to clear $100 million in handle for the first two months, with the $111.4 million accounting for 14.5% of the action. Barstool and WynnBET are neck-and-neck for the No. 5 spot, with Barstool’s $39.3 million representing 5.1% of the market and Wynn’s $38.2 million just shy of 5%. TwinSpires, Unibet, and BetRivers have combined for less than 1% of the mobile handle, though BetRivers’ October total of $681,571 came from just five days of wagering.
