Multiple Arizona Sportsbooks Awaiting ADG License Approvals

• The Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG) has approved TwinSpires to launch in Arizona.
• TwinSpires is the eighth Arizona online sportsbook to receive a license.
• Arizona sports betting laws allow for 18 online sportsbooks in total statewide.

PHOENIX – Arizona’s sports betting market has gotten off to a strong start as eight sportsbooks are currently live and accepting wagers.

Sports betting launched in the Grand Canyon State on September 9 and since then, multiple operations have seen major success. However, many are still waiting for their applications to be approved.

This doesn’t seem to be a major issue though as Arizona sports betting has been a huge success since its launch. The Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG) currently has its hands full with a surplus of applications to look through regarding potential sportsbook operators.

Arizona’s Early Success

For Week 1 of the 2021-2022 NFL season, Arizona was the fourth largest sports betting market in the US.

Arizona launched with seven operators including BetMGM, FanDuel, and DraftKings. TwinSpires is the most recent platform to go live, being the eighth sportsbook to be seen in the state.

There can be as many as 18 possible online sportsbooks operating in Arizona, so the ADG is on a steady pace with nearly half the licenses given out. But they are currently backed up as they try and figure out which sportsbook applications will receive the ten final licenses.

Sportsbooks That Are Waiting

Notable operators still awaiting their applications to be greenlit for licenses include Bally Bet, BetFred, BetRivers, and the Golden Nugget. The ADG is reviewing all applications thoroughly to ensure operators can supply the approved sports wagers to Arizona residents before being granted their licenses to join the industry.

This is an arduous process, which means these sportsbooks will slowly gain approval over the coming weeks and months but nothing will be immediate.

Other sportsbooks, such as the tribal casinos, are not dictated by the ADG, but instead by the tribes themselves.

While the ADG does review and approve these platforms, they are regulated through their own Tribal Gaming Compacts, which does not require the ADG to review their preliminary applications.

Sports betting as a whole still has a slight issue in the Grand Canyon State as the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe is continuing its efforts to stop regulated sports betting in Arizona, deeming the way it was legalized as unconstitutional.

There has been no traction with these actions by the Tribe and it likely will not stop Arizona’s sports betting market from thriving any time soon.

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