Arizona’s sports betting handle witnessed a major decrease for February. As a whole, the sports betting industry had a down month due to the lack of events besides the Super Bowl.
February’s Sports Betting Numbers For Arizona
This is the second straight month that Arizona witnessed a solid decline in its monthly sports betting handle numbers. According to a report released by the Arizona Department of Gaming on Thursday, sportsbook operators handled $491.7 million in wagers.
This was the third-highest total handle since the market launched back in September 2021 but was the 11th state to exceed the $1 billion overall handle mark. February’s figures noted a significant decline of 12.8 percent from January’s record of $563.7 million.
ADG Director Ted Vogt stated in a press release, “Event wagering levels continue to indicate a strong market in Arizona,… “While there was a small decline in wagering activity, the state maintained a strong national presence in a traditionally slower month of sports wagering.”
Assessing Arizona’s Mobile Sports Betting Handle and Revenue
Even without the official Super Bowl handle, it appears that bettors across the Copper State won against the house. Bookmakers in the state generated $24.4 million in gross gaming revenue, translating into a hold of just five percent.
The previous low of $31.2 million dates back to September, when the market launched. Looking back at January’s gross gaming revenue total, the figures dropped 39 percent from $41.9 million. This also noted a 53 percent decrease from November 2021’s record of $51.4 million.
Bookmakers in Arizona took $17.6 million in promotional credit deductions, which meant that the adjusted gross revenue for the month totaled in at $6.9 million. The state was able to collect $670,686 in taxes, which was not even close to a third of the total amount that was collected in January.
Online sports betting is the most popular form of sports betting in Arizona, as bettors across the state wagered a total of $488.3 million, or 99.3 percent of the total handle. Four sportsbook operators controlled most of the market share for the month.
FanDuel accepted $142.4 million in mobile wagers, which accounted for 29 percent of the market share.
DraftKings fell short of the top spot for the first time as it brought in $131.6 million or 27 percent. Still,
DraftKings generated $10.1 million more in revenue than FanDuel, as the operator held 7.7 percent of the market.
BetMGM and Caesars were the only two other operators that had a market share in the double-digits. BetMGM ($99.8 million) and Caesars ($78.4 million) respectively had a market share of 20 percent and 16 percent. Every other online sportsbook had a market share of four percent or lower.
Arizona Will Be Adding More Sportsbook Operators
By the time February rolled around, 18 mobile sportsbooks were licensed to operate in Arizona. Betway, Desert Diamond Digital, and Bally Bet were the last sportsbooks to receive the go-ahead from the Arizona Department of Gaming.
During the month, the ADG also announced a list of 10 limited event wagering operators. They can partner with event wagering companies to open retail sportsbooks.
