If signed by the Gov., tribes will be able to build new casinos and offer new games

Arizona sports betting, gambling expansion approved by Legislature

Under the bill approved Monday by the Senate, 10 professional sports teams and 10 tribes can acquire sports betting licenses under the bill, and all can offer mobile betting.
2021-04-14
Reading time 2:25 min
The House gave the final approval on Monday and Gov. Doug Ducey is expected to sign the bill into law, legalizing betting on professional and college sports at sites owned by pro sports teams and at tribal casinos, fantasy sports and new Keno games at horse race tracks and fraternal organizations run by the state lottery. Sportsbooks would see an 8% tax rate on all revenue.

Arizona state lawmakers moved sports betting Senate Bill 1797 and House Bill 2772 through their respective chambers, giving the final approval Monday evening to the House version on a 23-6 vote by the Senate.

Gov. Doug Ducey is expected to sign the bill into law, legalizing betting on professional and college sports at sites owned by pro sports teams and at tribal casinos, gambling on fantasy sports and new Keno games at horse race tracks and fraternal organizations run by the state lottery. Proposition bets are not allowed.

With the passage of the legislation, Ducey also is expected to sign amendments to the gaming compacts with the state's tribes, allowing them to expand casinos and offer new games such as baccarat, craps and roulette, the Arizona Republic reports. Currently, they only offer card games such as blackjack and poker.

Ducey won the support of tribes in the state for off-reservation sports and fantasy betting in exchange for allowing them to expand, including an unspecified number of new casinos in metro Phoenix. Lawmakers have privately reviewed details of the compact changes Ducey has negotiated, but the Governor's Office has only shared broad details with the public.

Ten professional sports teams and 10 tribes can acquire sports betting licenses under the bill, and all can offer mobile betting. The off-reservation sportsbooks also can offer betting at sites within five blocks of their sports facilities. The sports-betting license holders could contract with online wagering companies such as FanDuel or DraftKings.

Rep. Jeff Weninger, a Republican who sponsored the bill, said the new market could easily exceed $100 million per year in revenue for the general fund.

Sportsbooks would see an 8% tax rate on all revenue after subtracting payouts to gamblers. The Joint Legislative Budget Committee, which reviews new laws to estimate their financial impact, estimates all the new gambling under the law will bring the state about $34 million in new annual revenue, but warned that the estimate is based only on broad details in the bill and the experience of other states. 

For example, the JLBC predicts that the Department of Gaming will charge sportsbook operators $150,000 annually for their license, though that is not set in the law. The JLBC estimates sports betting alone will bring about $15 million in revenue to the state general fund, based on those fees and tax collections. The estimate is based on sports betting in Iowa, Indiana, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Under the bill, the Arizona Department of Gaming can license fantasy sports operators, who can take bets online. Gamblers can then select virtual teams made up of actual players in recognized sports and wager on them. Fraternal organizations, veterans' groups and horse tracks could install kiosks for fantasy betting. The JLBC estimates fantasy betting will bring in about $1.2 million annually to the state.

Keno will be allowed at fraternal organizations, veterans' clubs and horse tracks and off-track betting sites that have lottery licenses, or about 250 locations in the state, according to an analysis of the bill by the JLBC, which estimates keno could bring in about $16 million annually to the state general fund. A mobile draw game also is allowed under the bill, offering hourly drawings. The JLBC estimated this could bring in about $2 million annually to the general fund.

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