Most licenses taken already
Arizona’s sports betting industry is set to launch on September 9, which is likely not coincidentally the first day of the NFL season. But injunctions filed by two entities have forced emergency hearings this coming Friday and threaten to delay sports wagering in the state.
Before we take a brief look at each injunction, let’s first quickly review how Arizona’s sports betting licensing regime is setup. There are 20 licenses available from the Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG). Ten of them are earmarked for Native American tribes, while the other ten will go to professional sports teams and organizations.
The ADG handed out all ten tribal licenses last Friday. A total of 16 tribes applied for licenses, which of course means that six were left out. Eight of the professional sports licensees were also determined. The licensees can partner with sportsbook providers; 15 of the 18 licensees have announced their partners.
Friday court hearings
The Yavapai-Prescott Tribe’s lawsuit is filed against Gov. Doug Ducey and ADG Director Ted Vogt and is slated to be heard at 1:00pm in civil court. Seeking to stop the issuance of the licenses, the tribe argues that HB 2772, the law that legalized sports betting, runs counter to Proposition 202 and the compacts between the tribes and the state that granted the tribes gaming exclusivity.
Gaming and sports betting lawyer Daniel Wallach told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the Yavapai-Prescott’s argument is unlikely to fly. He said that part of Proposition 202 allowed for the possibility of changes to state law that would expand gambling outside of tribal territories and to non-tribal entities, which is what HB 2772 did.
Turf Paradise, a horse racetrack in Phoenix, will argue its lawsuit at 2:00pm in appeals court. The ADG denied Turf Paradise a license, but the racecourse says that the decision was “arbitrary and capricious, not supported by substantial evidence, and/or an abuse of discretion.”
It sounds like Turf Paradise’s application was denied because the ADG does not consider Turf Paradise to be a professional sports organization. The lawsuit says (hence the assumption here) that the ADG’s website reads, “Opened in 1956, Turf Paradise was one of the first organized professional sports franchises in Arizona.”
On the ADG’s “Racing History” page, though, it says, “….Turf Paradise opened its doors becoming one of Arizona’s first sports franchises,” no mention of “professional.”
Plenty of sports betting competition
The 15 known Arizona sports betting operators are as follows (licensee in parentheses):
Bally Bet (WNBA‘s Phoenix Mercury)
Barstool Sportsbook (Phoenix Raceway)
BetFred (Ft. McDowell Yavapai Nation)
BetMGM (NFL’s Arizona Cardinals)
BetRivers (Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers)
Betway (San Juan Southern Palute Tribe)
Caesars Sportsbook (MLB‘s Arizona Diamondbacks)
DraftKings Sportsbook (TPC Scottsdale)
FanDuel Sportsbook (NBA‘s Phoenix Suns)
Fubo Gaming (Ak-Chin Indian Community)
Golden Nugget (Hualapai Tribe)
SuperBook (Fort Mojave Indian Tribe)
TwinSpires (Tonto Apache Tribe)
Unibet (Quechan Tribe)
WynnBET (San Carlos Apache Tribe)
Three other licensees – the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes, Navajo Nation, and Tohono O’odham Nation – have not announced their operator partners.