July is the dullest time for bettors and Arizona’s legal sports betting market felt the pinch, but thanks to poor luck by Arizona bettors, the operators increased their revenue.
Arizona’s Department of Gaming announced a July handle of $323.2 million — a nearly 18% decline compared to the $393 million from June — and a new low point in 2023.
After paying out $287.8 in winning tickets, online sports betting sites kept $34.5 million, before deductions. The 10.6% hold was well above June’s 7%.
The increase in hold more than made up for the $70 million in fewer bets and in the end, Arizona sports betting revenue and the state’s tax bill saw month-over-month increases. After over $7 million in free bet deductions, operators reported $26.8 million in adjusted revenue. From that revenue, the state made $2.6 million in taxes, well above June’s $1.6 million.
FanDuel and DraftKings enjoyed another month of $100 million in bets while the other operators were well behind in handle and revenue. FanDuel saw the most action with $115.5 million (from online and retail bets), while DraftKings was a close second with $102.3 million.
BetMGM was third with $43.2 followed by Caesars with $32.6 million. The 12 other mobile sportsbooks all failed to surpass $10 million in bets.
Retail betting still an afterthought
Every legal sports betting state (with both retail and online options) has an uneven split in handle. Most people like placing bets online but Arizona’s division is starker. Over 99% of all wagers are placed online.
FanDuel’s retail sportsbook was more popular than all of the other locations, seeing $1.8 million in wagers. BetMGM reported $284,000 followed by Caesars with $232,000.
And from the $2.4 million bet in July, those major retail operators held just 6.6%, after paying out winners. When you include the sports bars that have a limited event license, retail winnings contributed to less than 1% of the state’s tax haul from sports betting.
