Since the implementation of in September, legislation to modernize Arizona’s gaming laws and practices, Arizona professional sports teams and venues, gaming websites and mobile apps, and casino operators have already utilized the updated gaming laws to generate millions in tax revenue for the state. 

The bill modernized an industry supporting more than 38,000 jobs and amended gaming compacts with the tribal nations of Arizona. In addition to renovating an aging gaming system, the bill legalizes sports betting and proposes 20 licenses for tribal operators and professional sports teams to take part in event wagering.

“Gaming employs thousands of Arizonans, and it generates millions in tax revenue that benefits areas like K-12 education, conservation, and treatment centers,”after the bill signing.

New tribal gaming compact 

According to the, the Compact institutes technical standards for gaming machines, authorizes state inspection of casinos, establishes a thorough application process for the licensing of casinos and employees, and defines how taxes on net gaming revenue will go towards state and local governments.

Tribes may operate multiple gaming facilities under one license. The also increases to 1400 the number of gaming devices that a tribe may operate at each gaming facility. Transfer agreements under the Compact also allow tribes to transfer monies to recognized tribes that do not have casinos or who are located in rural areas so that they may also benefit from gaming revenue.

The rollout of sports betting

Wagering licenses that have include the Phoenix Suns, Arizona Diamondbacks,, Arizona Cardinals, Arizona Coyotes, and the TPC Scottsdale and Phoenix Raceway. Teams who have applied for licensees, but who are still in the application process, include the Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers in partnership with BetRivers, and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, which has a 15-year agreement in place with Bally’s.

The second week of September marked the opening weekend for sports-betting in Arizona.More than six million bets or log-ins to betting applications were recorded during the first four days, putting Arizona in 4th place among states for most sports betting transactions. 

, a company that records data for sports betting, says that its data covers nearly 100% of the legal online industry in the U.S. The managing director for GeoComply, Lindsay Slader, said that “Arizona is showing that there is pent up demand for sports betting in the Western part of the US… We haven’t seen anything quite like it”

Benefits for the state

The passage of prop 202 in 2002 and the Tribal Compact updates of 2021 that gaming tribes in Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ake annual contributions to the, which is used to invest in the state’s education, healthcare systems, conservation, and the economies of local communities.

For the period from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021, tribal contributions from gaming revenue deposited in the Arizona Benefits Fund, more than $97 million. Additionally, the Arizona Department of Gaming that $40,699,186 in tribal gaming contributions will be deposited in the Arizona Benefits Fund for the state’s first quarter of fiscal year 2022.

“We’re excited to see the largest contribution ever to the Arizona Benefits Fund to kick off the start of fiscal year 2022,” Arizona Department of Gaming Director Ted Vogt said. “This increase directly correlates with the newly amended Tribal-State Gaming Compacts signed by Governor Ducey and Arizona tribes earlier this year. Without a doubt, all signals point toward a new era of tribal gaming that will go to benefit all of Arizona.”Mobile sports betting is to produce $252,000,000 in annual revenue. This will be taxed by the state at a rate of 8%, a rate established in HB 2772.

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A bill to allow fans 21 and older to bet on professional sports teams, NASCAR and pro golfing events at venues on and off reservations statewide is advancing with bipartisan support at the Arizona Legislature. 

The bill also could allow electronic keno machines in some fraternal and veterans organizations, fantasy sports league betting, and mobile and online betting, all currently illegal in the state. 

The main sponsor, Rep. Jeff Weninger (R-Chandler), said the measure could generate revenue for the state and tribes and lower the tax burden on citizens and businesses. 

“It helps with the engagement of the game and with the teams here,” said Rep. Weninger, chair of the House Commerce Committee. “If people are making bets, it helps our revenue in the state and helps businesses in the state with people going out to bars and restaurants.”  

About 20 states now allow sports betting 

A companion bill is now moving through the Senate. If the bill can pass muster there, Arizona would join about 20 states that allow sports betting. 

Revenue generated by sports betting in the U.S. racks up in the billions of dollars on a monthly basis, according to , a betting industry news site. A betting tracker on the site shows that the nationwide record for betting wagers in a single month was $3.3 billion in October.  

Arizona cannot afford to be left out, representatives from Arizona’s major sports teams told lawmakers in hearings last month. 

“We cannot allow Arizona to fall behind, putting our sports teams at a significant disadvantage in a competitive market,” Amilyn Pierce, vice president of government affairs for the Arizona Diamondbacks told the House Commerce Committee last month. 

What the bill provides

If the bill in Arizona is approved, the measure would:

• Authorize sports books to be set up in or near some sports stadiums, racetracks and golf courses 
• Allow Arizona to join 43 other states that allow daily fantasy league betting through online platforms like Draft Kings and FanDuel
• Allow mobile and online sports betting through licensed platforms like BetMGM
• Authorize the installation of electronic keno games at some fraternal and veterans’ organizations 
• Authorize Indian tribes to operate fantasy sports betting and event wagering through mobile platforms available for off-reservation use

Sports teams, tribes, elected officials support the measure

The measure has support from major professional sports teams in the state, most of the tribes and many elected officials including Gov. Doug Ducey. 

Sports teams and tribes support the legislation for the financial boost it will provide, particularly with the pandemic squeezing their bottom line. 

Tribal gaming already provides more than $100 million a year in tax revenue for the state and millions of dollars annually for cities and towns, according to the state . The funds go for a variety of uses including education, trauma and emergency services, the state Tourism Fund, and the Arizona Wildlife Conservation Fund. 

Measure passes House, now in Senate 

Last week, the House of Representatives approved the bill, House Bill 2772, by a 48-12 vote. A companion bill, Senate Bill 1797, is moving through the Senate. At the first hearing in the Senate Commerce Committee, SB 1797 was approved by a 6-3 vote.  

If approved by the full Senate and the governor, the bill would authorize 10 licensees to set up sports books in or near stadiums, racetracks and golf courses. Ten licenses would also go to tribes that could open new casinos and set up their own sportsbooks, according to the.  

Updates Arizona Tribal-State Gaming Compacts

The new legislation would supersede the state’s Tribal-State Gaming Compacts of 2002, which gave tribes most of the control over gaming in the state. Sports betting was not allowed under the compacts.

If approved, a years-long effort by Gov. Ducey to negotiate a new pact with the tribes would finally come to fruition. 

At the House hearing last week, Stephen Roe Lewis, the governor of the Gila River Indian Community said that 18 of the state’s 22 tribes support the sports betting bill as part of the compact.

Bars and restaurants left out  

Restaurants and bars feel left out as there are no provisions to allow them to offer sports betting. 

At a hearing of the House Commerce Committee last month, several representatives, including Rep. Diego Espinoza, expressed support for bars and restaurants to be included in the bill. 

Currently, there are few states, if any, that offer that option.

Supporters of sports betting in Arizona

Sports teams, tribes and other organizations are in support of the two companion bills including:

• Arizona Cardinals
• Arizona Coyotes
• Arizona Diamondbacks
• Phoenix Suns
• Phoenix Raceway 
• PGA Tour
• Navajo Nation
• Tohono O’Odham Nation
• Gila River Indian Community 
• Colorado River Indian Tribes 
• Salt-River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
• Hualapai Tribe 
• Pascua Yaqui Tribe
• Cocopah Indian Tribe 
• Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation
• Arizona Indian Gaming Association
• Arizona Licensed Beverage Association
• City of Avondale
• BetMGM
• Draft Kings
• FanDuel 

To see full text of bill passed by the house,

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