Arizona posts $360M in sports betting handle for August; closes first year of legal wagering with solid results

Bettors in Arizona wagered over $360 million during the month of August, according to a new report by the Arizona Department of Gaming. Player spending on the vertical jumped 24.3% month-on-month, while revenue in the state also increased.

“I am excited to see such strong wagering figures for August, which is the final monthly report for Arizona’s first year of legal sports betting,” said Ted Vogt, Director, ADG. “Through the first year of legal wagering, Arizona has seen over $5.4 billion wagered on sports, highlighting the strong start for the state’s new sports betting industry.”

For a relatively new market, Arizona is delivering solid results: the state ranked 5th nationally in total wagers placed during August, according to the regulator. Privilege fees totaled nearly $2.8 million in the month, resulting in over $21 million in privilege fees collected by the state since the start of legal operations. 

August’s handle was ahead of the $290.5 million wagered on sports in July, and also represents the second consecutive month of growth in the state. Most of the bets were placed online, at $359.2 million, with only $1.5 million wagered at retail sportsbooks. Arizona players won $323.8 million, leaving $36.3 million in revenue for operators, up 65% from July.

After accounting for $8.5 million in free bets and promotional credits, taxable revenue for the month was $27.8 million, up 85% from the previous month. As for top operators for the month, DraftKings led August’s handle at $129.8 million in bets, followed by FanDuel, with $109.7 million in total wagers. BetMGM placed third, with $58.2 million in handle.

A year after going live, Arizona's sports betting industry now has 18 mobile operators and 10 limited event retail operators. While the number of companies taking bets in the Grand Canyon State has expanded from the eight operators that went live on launch date, market share is concentrated on a handful of them, with DraftKings and FanDuel accounting for two-thirds of the segment.

These two operators, along with BetMGM, all took in more than $1 billion in bets in the first 12 months of legalized event wagering in Arizona. DraftKings was the most popular app with just under $1.7 billion in bets on its platform for the state. FanDuel had a total of $1.5 billion in bets, and BetMGM had a $1.1 billion handle.

See Arizona's full sports betting report for August here.