April was a down month for Arizona sports betting in terms of 2023 numbers.
Sportsbooks in The Grand Canyon State reported a year-low $512.9 million handle, down 16.9% from $644.8 million in March. However, the handle grew by 4.5% year-over-year from $512.9 million in April 2022, showing the market still has plenty of promise.
Arizona sportsbooks also reached a milestone in April, surpassing $10 billion in lifetime handle since becoming operational in September 2021.
Year-over-year revenue grows significantly
The state received $3.4 million in taxes for the month. Real-money online casinos in Arizona remain prohibited, leaving a 10% mobile sports betting tax as the only current revenue stream from online gambling.
Revenue followed the same trend as handle in April for sportsbooks in Arizona, which paid back $486.5 million to bettors before reporting a $48 million win for the month.
These numbers represented a 10.1% decrease from March ($53.4 million) but a healthy 64.4% YoY growth.
Of that total, $13.6 million was deductible from bonuses and promotional credits. Adjusted gross revenue (AGR) totaled $34.4 million. Adjusted figures showed a 7.3% MoM decline but were up 108.5% YoY.
March Madness clarifies April
We expected numbers to dip from March to April, a common trend nationwide with fewer sporting events on the docket.
Looking at the numbers, March’s sports betting success played a more significant role in the results than April’s failures.
Its $644.7 million handle was second all-time, unable to pass the record $691 million from one year earlier (-6.7% YoY). Sportsbooks more than made up for the yearly drop with $53.4 million in revenue, up 37.6% YoY (from $38.9 million) due to a paltry 5.3% hold in March 2022.
March’s booms have resulted in double-digit declines in April for two years now. Last April, monthly handle and revenue fell even further, -25.8% and -21.7%, respectively, making April’s -16.9% and -10.1% respective totals a relative improvement.
April may have been a slower month, but the state is still trending upward.
AZ sports betting keeps growing; three new licenses soon to be awarded
Mobile sports betting made up an eye-popping 99% of all wagers in April. The state’s 17 mobile sportsbooks accounted for $531.2 million of the total handle, meaning just $3.7 million was bet across retail sportsbooks.
As mentioned, lifetime sports betting handle surpassed $10 billion lifetime. In 20 months, Arizonans have wagered $10,161,069,478, resulting in $829.6 million in revenue and $46.5 million in taxes for the state.
And the best part for Arizonans? The market will only continue to grow and expand.
The Arizona Department of Gaming recently announced it would soon award three new event wagering licenses – two to Arizona sports franchises and one to an Arizona tribal casino. This will round out the state’s offering under its current legislation, which allows for 20 mobile wagering licenses (10 for tribes and 10 for sports franchises).
The application window will be open from Aug. 1-15. Leading up to those dates, ADG will publish application forms on July 14 and host an informational webinar on July 17 for prospective applicants.
ADG did not state when it will declare the awardees, but based on previous years, it could happen before football season begins in September.
