Arizona Sports Betting Numbers Meet High Expectations in September, October

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Arizona Sports Betting Numbers Meet High Expectations in September, October
© USA Today

Arizona sports betting brought substantial wagering activity through September and October.

According to figures from Arizona Department of Gaming's earnings report, Arizona took in $291.2 million in bets during September and brought in a handle of $486.1 million in October.

Quick Rise in Sports Betting

The state officially debuted sports betting on Sept. 9.

“Without a doubt, newly legalized casino games, event wagering and fantasy sports have already increased revenues to the state and will continue to do so for years to come,” ADG Director Ted Vogt said in a media release. “I am proud of the continued partnership between the state, Arizona Tribes, and event wagering and fantasy sports stakeholders that benefits all of Arizona.”

Arizona residents preferred to place bets online during October, with $479.3 million going to the state’s mobile handle, a 66.4% increase from September’s $288.1 million.

Sports betting revenue in October (adjusted gross event wagering receipts) came to $10.4 million, up 2,539% from September’s $392,418.

The state’s tax from sports wagering was $1 million, an increase of 3,158% from September’s $31,393.

"Arizona’s event wagering and fantasy sports is off to a strong start here in the state and will only increase as the market matures," Vogt said in the press release. "We worked diligently with the public and stakeholders to efficiently and responsibly set up these industries in just under five months, and we are starting to see the culmination of this hard work.”

Arizona Sports Betting Revenue & Handle, October vs. September

Total HandleMobile Handle Revenue
October$486.097M$479.255M$10.356M
September$291.213M$288.129M$0.392M
Change Up 66.9% Up 66.3% Up 2539%

Note: Arizona sports betting launched Sept. 9; October was the first full month.

Top Sportsbooks

The familiar brands made the biggest impact in Arizona’s sports betting market.

DraftKings Sportsbook recorded the highest handle for October at $151.4 million, while FanDuel Sportsbook was second at $115.9 million.

BetMGM was third with $92.1 million. Caesars Sportsbook ($69.2 million) and Penn National with its Barstool Sportsbook rounded out the top five ($26.3 million).

Arizona Expected To Grow Even More

Before the first Arizona sports betting reports came out, there were early indications the Arizona market would flourish.

In October, the geolocation firm GeoComply highlighted how Arizona was ranked fourth out of 18 states and the District of Columbia in NFL betting transactions, trailing only Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

DraftKings was also expected to be one of the biggest operators after it announced it secured over 100,000 paid customers in the state 17 days after launch. DraftKings’ customer growth was 10 times faster than New Jersey, which is their next best market.

November could see more high betting numbers, with the NFL and college football seasons continuing, in addition to the NHL and NBA. College basketball betting also started in November and will likely provide a boost to sports betting activity in Arizona.

National Sports Betting Numbers Huge

With Arizona reporting, the September U.S. sports betting handle was $5.49 billion with $334.5 million in revenue.

October’s sports betting handle was $7.54 billion with a revenue of $524.8 million. Both the handle and revenue figures in October were national records.