Arizona's Legal Sports Betting Poised for a Sept 9th Debut

The Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG) is planning for the official launch of the state’s regulated sports betting market on September 9th. On this same date, the 2021 NFL season opener match will take place at the Raymond James Stadium, where the Dallas Cowboys will face off against the reigning Super Bowl champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

September 9th will indeed be a big day for Arizona sports fans as they will also legally be allowed to place future bets on their NFL home team opener match scheduled for September 12th. The Arizona Cardinals will be traveling to Tennessee for their clash with the Tennessee Titans at the Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

Following a second public comment period that ended last week, the updated rules of engagement for fantasy sports and event betting in the Grand Canyon State were announced on Monday, July 26th. ADG Director Ted Vogt said:

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“We look forward to wrapping this up very soon and pushing the rules out, and getting moving on the rest of the process. We will go ahead, once we have these rules in a final format, come up with a much more solid time frame that we will release publicly.”

Arizona's draft regulations have now been forwarded to the Secretary of State with the public comment session over.

The Copper State to Complete the Sports Betting Race in Record Time

Should plans stay on course, Arizona will have managed to debut its regulated sports betting market in just five months since state legislators and Governor Doug Deucey rubber-stamped the measure. However, as most states have taken over one year for their legal sports betting markets after the activity received approval from lawmakers, this is no mean feat for the Copper State.

The race to regulated sports betting in the Grand Canyon State started in February when the Arizona House Commerce Committee advanced House Bill 2772. Under the sponsorship of Republican Jeff Weninger of Chandler, the Representative of District 17, this bill sought to allow legal sports betting in tribal casinos following a compact with Gov Ducey. Alongside the tribes, HB 2772 also permitted horse racing tracks and professional team venues in the state to take sports bets.

After legislative and gubernatorial approval, the measure was sent over to the US Department of the Interior as it involved a tribal-state compact that needs federal approval. DoI’s thumbs-up came in May, and from there, the ADG switched to high gear.

What Does Arizona’s Regulated Sports Betting Landscape Look Like?

Initial rules for Arizona’s legal sports betting scene were released in June by the ADG for the first public comment period, and a few tweaks were introduced. Now that the second public participation window is over, the gaming watchdog has released the final draft of the regulations. Here is a quick picture of the Arizona legal sports betting market according to ADG’s draft that has since been submitted to the Secretary of State for the final greenlight:

8% tax on retail sports wagers
10% tax on mobile wagers
$750,000 sportsbook application fee
$150,000 annual license maintenance fee
10 licenses for tribal gaming sportsbooks
10 sportsbook licenses for professional sports teams and venues
All operators can have up to 2 skins with their licenses, and so, up to 40 sportsbooks could be live in the Grand Canyon State

On Monday, Arizona’s gaming ombudsman also announced the formal opening of the license application period, which will end on August 9th. The ADG shall then have a week to review the applicants then announce qualified parties for licensure on August 16th.

After another week, on August 27th, the ADG plans to disclose operators who have earned a license on the state. A day later, on August 28th, licensees who received approval will be allowed to start advertising their upcoming products. Eligible bettors can even download sportsbook apps and create betting accounts in preparation for the September 9th debut date. Fantasy sports, on the other hand, will likely go live in the state on August 28th.

Sports betting operators who have already inked deals with the tribes, tracks, and professional teams in Arizona ahead of the launch include: