Sports
Arizona sportsbooks brought in record $499M in wagers in December
Sports bettors in Arizona generated $499.2 million in wagers in December, a record month for the state, according to analysts at PlayAZ.com.
Total wagers exceeded more than $466 million in each of the final three months of 2021.
The $499.2 million in wagers in December marked a 7% increase from November, according to the Arizona Department of Gaming. The state’s previous high before December came in October, when the state hit $486.1 million in wagers.
“The NFL season kept wagering high even as sportsbooks settled into something resembling normal after a surge of promotional spending early on,” C.J. Pierre, lead analyst for PlayAZ.com, said in a news release. “Importantly, bettor enthusiasm remains high and Arizonans will become more comfortable with less conventional products such as in-game betting. That should help keep activity brisk through March Madness.”
Sports betting became legal in Arizona in September. In their first four months of existence, Arizona’s sportsbooks generated $1.7 billion in wagers, $161.1 million in gross revenue and $6 million in privilege fees for the state of Arizona.
“New York broke many of Arizona’s records after it debuted mobile sportsbooks, but that shouldn’t diminish just how well the state has performed so far,” said Eric Ramsey, an analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network. “We expected Arizona to do well when sports betting launched in September, but the market continues to match the highest expectations with results that rival more mature markets, some with much larger populations.”
Online sportsbooks accounted for 99.1% of December’s wagers. Arizona has 17 state-approved online sportsbooks.
“Arizona is still a very young market, and no launch is completely smooth,” Pierre said. “But most of the state’s operators are off to a great start, even as promotional spending and other early-market hallmarks begin to settle.”
This article was originally posted on Arizona sportsbooks brought in record $499M in wagers in December
