Arizona Department of Gaming awarded a licence for event betting to Fanatics Betting & Gaming on 15th March. This is the only US major operator that has not yet entered the market. The Tonto Apache Tribe will partner with Fanatics.
In February, the ADOG launched a window for applications to obtain a tribal license and if necessary – obtaining a professional sports franchise. According to law, 20 licenses are available. 10 of them will be tied to professional sports franchises and tribal casinos.
ADOG has not announced if they have issued a license to an entity who would partner with a pro sports franchise. However, the ADOG confirmed to iGB it did not receive any requests for a pro franchise licence. In a previous licensing round, no pro franchises applied. Eight professional sports franchises have been licensed to date. Two pro franchise licenses remain unclaimed. It appears that two and a quarter years after Arizona legalized sports betting, there are currently no professional franchises within the state who could be eligible.
There are still some tribes that do not allow event betting
The 10 tribal licences available have all been claimed. This leaves at least six tribes unable to access sports betting in Arizona. The ADOG granted a license to Bet365, in August. Bet365 was awarded the licence in partnership with Ak-Chin Indian Community, who lost their partner in 2022 when Fubo Sportsbook closed. Bet365 was launched in February.
The Fanatics platform, which was only available in a few states a year ago, has now been rebranded and launched in all 16 US states. This includes Michigan, New York and North Carolina.
Fanatics Sportsbook can launch their platform up to 180 calendar days after receiving all the required information. However, ADOG says it will launch it as soon as they receive go-live approval and submit necessary data.
Arizona operators broke the record in handling for January according to a report on sports betting revenues released 12 March. After promo deductions, the 16 live operators in Arizona had a gross adjusted revenue of $46.2m and paid $4.6m to the state in taxes.
