It has been years in the making but it appears as though legal sports betting in Arizona has been cleared for takeoff. One of the final legislative hurdles was cleared Monday when the US Department of the Interior approved a gaming compact between the state’s lawmakers and Native American gaming tribes.
The official process of legalization began in earnest shortly after voters approved legal sports betting during the November 2020 election. The first real sign of the seriousness of lawmakers came on April 15 when Governor Doug Ducey signed a renegotiated compact with the state’s gaming tribes. During that time, there were some indications about what he and the Tribes had in mind for their legal sports betting platform.
The Platform
According to lawmakers, the new compact will pave the way for both retail and mobile sports betting in Arizona and DFS will officially be welcomed to the state under the new agreement.
There will be 20 licenses handed out, 10 of which will supposedly go to the Tribes and the other 10 to professional sports organizations in the state. It is unclear as to how 10 licenses will be split up among Arizona’s 19 federally recognized Arizona tribes.
Other than that, details are somewhat limited at this point in time. The Arizona Department of Gaming has yet to publish the contents of a draft set of rules and has yet to decide on an acceptable tax rate for the platform when it is up and running.
Arizona Wins
As with most sports betting legislation, everybody seems to win. In this case it is the state’s gaming tribes, betting providers, professional sports teams and needy state and local coffers that will benefit from the tax infusion that accompanies such a platform.
Sports betting providers have already begun to stake their ground in Arizona. Caesars has already forged a relationship with the Arizona Diamondbacks of MLB, and the country’s DFS behemoths have signed partnership deals of their own in the state – one has signed on with the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and the other has assigned a marketing deal with TPC Scottsdale.
In the end, 7.3 million Arizonans will be able to place a legal sports bet once the platform is up and running and the state is in line to benefit to the tune of $154.4 million in annual taxable sports betting revenue.
“Gaming creates thousands of jobs for Arizonans, it generates tax revenue that benefits key areas of our communities, and it draws visitors to our state,” said Ducey said in a statement. “The tribal-state gaming compact amendment, along with its associated legislation, was the culmination of a multi-year process and I was proud to work with all the stakeholders on this historic accomplishment.”
Possible Suitors
Arizona’s population, which ranks 14th in the US has a rabid fanbase which figures to draw a lot of attention from prospective Heavyweight betting providers for the state. Rest assured that there will be no shortage of top end providers knocking on the state’s door looking to become a part of the Arizona legal sports betting scene.
There has already been a fair share of interest in Arizona from a host of betting providers. BetMGM, WynnBET, theScore, Penn National’s Barstool Sports, PointsBet are a few of the Big Dogs mentioned in correlation with Arizona’s impending launch.
Many more are expected to battle for the 20 state licenses.
When Will We See Sports Betting in Arizona?
Arizona, like many prospective jurisdictions, is pointing to a late-summer launch. The start of the NFL season is an obvious target, and the state looks to be on track for that. There is no shortage of work to do before that time. However, including a draft document about what exactly the platform will look like. Plus, potential betting providers still have to go through the licensing process.
But through it all, it looks like the hard part is done for the Arizona scene. Look for regulators to step on the gas and for Arizona to join the legal sports betting club later this year.
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