Arizona Department of Gaming will be accepting event wagering requests from July 8-19. The agency made the announcement on Friday, 7 June. On the 19th, applications will be accepted until 5 pm local time. State law permits up to twenty digital platforms. There are currently 17 active operators in the state.
A minimum of two event betting applications will be considered by the ADG for each tribal casino franchise and sports professional franchise.
Arizona requires that event betting operators be tied to either a professional sport franchise or an Indian tribe. Each pro sports venue and Indian tribe is allowed 10 licenses. The law has already issued eight pro-franchise licences and nine tribal licenses. This means that there are two pro-franchise and one tribal license available.
The key question to ask is if there are any more professional sports facilities that qualify under law for a licence.
Can anyone request a pro-franchise licence?
All licensed sportsbooks include the NFL Arizona Cardinals, NHL Phoenix Coyotes, MLB Arizona Diamondbacks and AFL Arizona Rattlers.
Even though they have moved from Utah to Arizona, the Coyotes still hold their license.
Phoenix Rising, a team in the United Soccer League, had applied for a licence, but ADG determined that it did not meet all the requirements set by the law. In 2021, the team was refused a license during an application period for event betting. The team declined to submit a second application in 2023. There are no other sports teams in California that compete at the highest levels.
Every major US operator has been active in Arizona since Fanatics Sportsbook launched its partnership with Tonto Apache tribe in April.
At least one tribal license applicant is likely
Most likely, any operator who wants to enter the state is going to partner up with a tribal group. The first time event betting was available in Arizona, 10 licenses had been issued. Many tribes remained without.
Since that time, several tribes lost their partners as a result of market consolidation or other factors. TwinSpires left the market, and Tonto Apache’s original partner was lost. Fubo Sportsbook closed down and the Ak-Chin Indian Community lost their original partner.
Unibet’s announcement that it was leaving the state has caused the Quechan Tribe, a part of Fort Yuma Indian Reservation to be the latest partner to leave.
Every time a tribe license became available in a licensing round there was corresponding interest.
