In its first full calendar year, Arizona’s sportsbooks recorded a total handle of $6,036,844,929, an average of over $500 million per month.
Monthly handle topped $500 million in seven of 12 months, including four in a row to close out the year. Sportsbooks combined for $482.9 million in gross gaming revenue for the year, good for an 8% hold.
A year full of sports betting highlights
Arizona sports betting may have become legal in September 2021, but those first four months were only a warmup for 2022. There are now 18 online sportsbooks available to bettors in The Grand Canyon State.
Arizona bettors hit the ground running to start 2022, producing the state’s first-ever handle above $500 million in January. February fell just shy of that mark, but March set a record $691 million handle that still stands today – that is until this March’s numbers are released.
Wagers predictably declined until football season began, when September started a four-month run above $500 million. September also had the single highest revenue total, with its 10.5% hold yielding $56.4 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR).
December’s $572 million handle then wrapped up the year, putting the total sports betting handle above $6 billion.
Arizona 2022 sports betting handle by month
| Month | Handle | Revenue | Hold | Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | $563,694,591 | $41,890,200 | 7.4% | $1,952,971 |
| February | $491,665,554 | $25,629,835 | 5.2% | $670,686 |
| March | $690,979,294 | $38,898,393 | 5.6% | $1,864,457 |
| April | $512,877,848 | $30,441,992 | 5.9% | $1,647,450 |
| May | $461,450,688 | $56,193,286 | 12.2% | $4,125,125 |
| June | $318,774,198 | $12,601,357 | 4% | $766,831 |
| July | $290,511,532 | $22,684,582 | 7.8% | $1,496,426 |
| August | $361,008,834 | $37,161,759 | 10.3% | $2,767,590 |
| September | $537,966,149 | $56,428,815 | 10.5% | $3,058,838 |
| October | $618,570,296 | $49,392,419 | 8% | $2,963,714 |
| November | $616,855,046 | $56,028,195 | 9.1% | $3,876,208 |
| December | $572,490,899 | $55,581,725 | 9.7% | $3,724,395 |
| Total | $6,036,844,929 | $482,932,558 | 8% (average) | $28,914,691 |
DraftKings edges FanDuel in handle, but not in GGR
DraftKings Arizona and FanDuel were far and away the most bet-on sportsbooks in Arizona. Both jockeyed for the top monthly handle throughout the year, with DraftKings taking the crown for seven months.
As a result, DraftKings led the state in total handle with $1.95 billion. FanDuel ($1.83 billion) was second, joined at 10 figures by BetMGM Arizona ($1.08 billion).
Caesars Arizona ($684.8 million) finished fourth, with the four sportsbooks accounting for 91.7% of the total handle in the state.
Annual GGR produced a different order on the podium. FanDuel Arizona ($185.8 million) generated over 38% of the state’s total GGR, well ahead of second-place BetMGM ($110.8 million)
DraftKings ($108.3 million) slipped to third due to two months of GGR below $3.4 million and a third month in the red. Caesars’ annual GGR was $45.1 million.
Nearly $29 million goes to the state
According to state law, Arizona sportsbooks must pay taxes of 8% of retail and 10% of online profits, adjusted after bonus bets and promotional credits. Because of these deductions, the state’s cut was just 6% of GGR, or $28.9 million.
Other states with 10% sports betting taxes include Kansas, Maine, Colorado, Ohio, and West Virginia. Four states have a lower tax rate: Indiana (9.5%), Michigan (8.4%), Iowa (6.75%), and Nevada (6.75%).
Meanwhile, many states like Illinois (15%), Maryland (15%), Tennessee (20%), and Pennsylvania (36%) are much higher.
Delaware (50%), New York (51%), New Hampshire (51%), and Rhode Island (51%) are the highest in the nation. In New York’s case, that produced over $690 million in state tax revenue. (Total handle was $16.3 billion in 2022.)
In Arizona, all tax money from sports betting goes to the state’s general fund, which goes toward education, health services, corrections, child safety, and other state agencies.
Arizona confirms itself as a top-six US sports betting market
Arizona routinely makes the rest of the nation wait for its sports betting figures to come out. For Arizonans, the wait was worth it. In its first full year of sports betting, Arizona produced the sixth-highest handle in the US.
New York’s $16.3 billion handle led the nation, nearly 49% more than New Jersey’s $10.9 billion. Illinois ($9.8 billion), Nevada ($8.7 billion), and Pennsylvania ($7.25 billion) rounded out the top five.
As for the next competitors, Arizona finished well ahead of Colorado ($5.2 billion), Virginia ($4.9 billion), and Michigan ($4.8 billion).
