Arizona sports activities betting has began off sizzling.
According to state figures made public Dec. 31, the state-sanctioned on-line and retail books took $777 million in bets throughout September and October. September had about $290 million in bets, with the remaining coming in October.
Figures from November and December aren’t but accessible.
The books retained $68 million of the wagers. They gave away $57 million in so-called free bets, nonetheless. As a tax, Arizona collected 10% of the $10.3 million in revenue.
“Since commencing operations, event wagering & fantasy sports have contributed more than $15 million directly to the state general fund over the months of September and October, highlighting the immediate revenues from these new industries,” Arizona gaming rules stated in a press release. “Arizona Operators paid more than $14 million in licensing fees, as well as more than $1 million in fees for the privilege of operating these new games.”
“Arizona’s event wagering & fantasy sports is off to a strong start here in the state and will only increase as the market matures,” stated Ted Vogt, Director of the Arizona Department of Gaming. “We labored diligently with the general public and stakeholders to effectively and responsibly arrange these industries in just below 5 months, and we’re beginning to see the end result of this tough work.”
Arizona legalized sports activities betting within the first half of 2021. The governor signed the state’s laws for sports activities playing in April, with the primary bets coming in September.
The state is one in every of greater than 30 nationwide to have legalized sports activities betting.
Arizona has two retail sportsbooks and 9 on-line operators.
