Arizona opens books on final three sports betting licenses
Grand Canyon State to conduct month-long search for sportsbook partners for tribal and franchise operators
The Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG) has confirmed a month-long application window for sportsbooks to tender for the state’s final three unclaimed sports betting licenses will begin next month.
From August 1, the ADG will accept applications for one event wagering license reserved for the state’s Native American Tribes and two event wagering licenses reserved for Arizona sports franchises.
The Arizona regulator has confirmed it will publish application forms and guidelines on its website on July 14, with plans to hold an informational webinar for prospective applicants on July 17.
The webinar will cover key aspects of the application process, provide clarification where needed, and answer relevant queries from potential applicants.
The application window for event wagering licenses will open on August 1, 2023 and will close on August 15, 2023. Then from August 25 to September 1, the ADG will consider all the applications received before naming its selected applicants.
Applicants must submit their completed applications within this timeframe in order to be considered for a license, with the ADG pledging to “thoroughly evaluate” all applications received based on the established criteria pursuant to the state’s event wagering rules and statutes.
If there are more qualified applicants than available licenses, ADG will review each supplemental allocation application and make a determination based on Arizona’s sports betting rules.
Elsewhere, following the repeal of PASPA in 2018, Arizona has become the fastest state to exceed $10bn in sports wagering handle, achieving this milestone in just 20 months, with the receipt of April’s sports betting figures.
The Grand Canyon State reported $535.7m in April handle, up 4.5% year on year, becoming only the 10th state to surpass the $10bn mark following the likes of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, as well as beating the previous record of Illinois, which broke the $10bn barrier in 22 months.
Sports betting operators reported $49.2m in gross gambling revenue (GGR) over the month, up 68.1% from April 2022, with the state collecting $3.4m in taxes during April.
As in previous quarters, FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM accounted for the bulk of the state’s handle and revenue in the month, with FanDuel leading the market on handle of $212.9m and revenue of $21.9m in gross gambling revenue (GGR) over April.
Nearest rival DraftKings accepted $148.7m in bets during April, generating $13.9m in GGR, while BetMGM posted $72.4m in handle and $7.7m in GGR in the same period.