The Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG) announced this weekend that it will begin accepting new applications for sports betting licenses in February. They will begin accepting licenses applications on February 16 and the application period will close on March 4.
The ADG said during its announcement it will issue one sports betting license for Arizona Native tribes and no less than one license for the state’s professional sport franchises.
When sports betting was legalized in Arizona in 2021 it allowed the state to offer up to 20 licenses, with 10 going to Native tribes and the remaining offered to the state’s professional sports franchises.
Arizona has seen several sportsbooks exit the state in the last few years leaving 15 sportsbooks currently operating, not including bet365 which has a license but has yet to launched in the state. Among the sportsbooks that have either announced they will be or have already ceased operation in the state over the last few years includes WynnBet, UniBet, TwinSpires, and Fubo.
Despite those sportsbooks shuttering operations in the state Arizona delivered favorable sports betting results in 2023. Through October, 2023 Arizona sportsbooks operators had taken in nearly $13 billion in bets. Betting handle for all of 2023 has not yet been reported.
The Arizona sports betting market is already occupied by many of the industry’s big names such as FanDuel, DraftKings, ESPN Bet, BetMGM, Caesars. It also has several local sportsbooks including Desert Diamond and Sahara Bets.
One notable name missing from Arizona’s sportsbook list is Fanatics Sportsbook. Fanatics acquired PointBet in 2023, but PointsBet did not receive a license through its partnership with the Yavapai-Apache Nation.
Most professional sports franchises in the state already have acquired sports betting licenses, including the state’s MLB, NFL, NHL, and NBA franchises. If a sports franchise was to apply for the newly available licenses it would most likely be the IFL’s Norther Arizona Wranglers or Tucson Sugar Skulls, or the USL’s Phoenix Rising.
