Arizona Sportsbooks Surged To $564 Million In Wagers In January

Written By Play AZ Editorial Team on April 1, 2022 - Last Updated on January 30, 2023
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Arizona is the eighth state to generate more than $500 million in wagering over a single month, according to PlayAZ analysts

(LAS VEGAS) — Arizona easily became the eighth U.S. state to accept more than $500 million in bets over a single month, with a record $564 million in wagers in January. The fresh round of new highs made for a fitting conclusion to a football season that started with a record-breaking launch, according to PlayAZ.com, which tracks Arizona’s sports betting market.

“With an extra week of regular season games and an expanded NFL playoff over five weekends in January, the schedule was kind to Arizona sportsbooks,” said Eric Ramsey, analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network, which includes PlayAZ.com. “Arizona’s quick ramp-up has been a function of great timing, local enthusiasm, and an attractive regulatory framework that has appealed to nationally known sportsbook operators. Major operators have had nearly four years of practice launching new markets as legalization has marched across the U.S., and Arizona has been a beneficiary of that know-how.”

Arizona’s online and retail sportsbooks accepted $563.7 million in wagers in January, shattering the previous record of $499.2 million in wagers tallied in December by 12.9%, according to official data released Friday by the Arizona Department of Gaming. Bettors placed an average of $18.2 million in wagers per day over the 31 days of January, up from $16.1 million per day in December.

The high betting volume led to $41.9 million in gross sports betting revenue for Arizona’s sportsbooks, up 5.2% from $39.8 million in December. That made for a 7.4% hold, a relatively high rate in January among the nation’s largest markets. With $20.9 million in promotional credits, the state taxed $19.6 million in gross event wagering receipts. That produced $2.0 million in taxes for the state.

Arizona sportsbooks launched in September with $291.2 million in wagers, but bettors have placed at least $466 million in bets every month since then. And only New York was quicker to its first $500 million handle among U.S. states, beating more populous jurisdictions like Illinois, Michigan and Pennsylvania to the milestone. 

Sportsbooks will begin to slow down after March Madness, a natural result of the seasonality of sports betting,” said C.J. Pierre, lead analyst for PlayAZ.com. “But the state’s sportsbooks took full advantage of the football season. That has the industry on solid footing for the year ahead.”

Online AZ sportsbooks took in 99.1% of the state’s January handle, or $558.7 million in wagers. Retail sportsbooks took in the state’s remaining $5.0 million in bets. 

DraftKings kept its market lead with $173.1 million in bets in January, all online. That was up from $146.0 million in December. The operator generated $11.9 million in gross revenue, up from $11.3 million in December.

FanDuel continued to trail its rival with $153.9 million in wagers, including $149.9 million online. FanDuel’s combined handle was up from $131.1 million in December and generated a market-best $12.8 million in gross revenue. BetMGM ($120.0 million in wagering, all online; $11.0 million in gross revenue) and Caesars ($73.5 million in wagering, including $72.4 million online; $3.9 million in gross revenue) most closely trailed the state’s leaders.

Currently, 18 of Arizona’s 20 allocated gaming licenses have been filled, with only the app from San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe and its partner Digital Gaming awaiting launch. 

“The early-to-market operators such as DraftKings and FanDuel have spent five months now expanding their reach to new customers,” Pierre said. “As Arizona’s bettors become increasingly comfortable with less conventional products such as live-game betting, their advantage will likely grow even as the entire market continues to expand.”

For more information and analysis on regulated sports betting in Arizona, visit PlayAZ.com/news.

Contact: Zack Hall, Catena Media, [email protected]

Photo by AP / Kyusung Gong
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