Arizona has issued 17 of its allocated 20 sports betting licenses. In an effort to add the remainder, the Arizona Department of Gaming will accept applications from July 8 to 19.
Of the 17, eight are associated with sports franchises and nine with tribal nations. At least one of the new applications must tie in with a sports team and another with a tribe. Application fees cost $100,000, and if accepted, the initial license costs $750,000.
The state has done well in sports wagering, with a record $700 million in handle three of the prior five months. The state also exceeded $16 billion since launch, the ninth state to reach that plateau.
The most recent sportsbook operators are Fanatics, tethered to the Tonto Apache Tribe and bet365, tied to the AK-Chin Indian Community.
Despite the high number of operators, Arizona remains an attractive state, thanks to its proximity to California, Nevada and Colorado. FanDuel and DraftKings accounted for 70 percent of the total. Throw in the four others who each pulled in $20 million or more, the market share comes to almost 96 percent.
Prime Sportsbook could be one of the new entrants. The upstart operates in Ohio and New Jersey.
Prime Executive Chairman Joe Brennan Jr. noted Arizona could fit his sportsbook’s profile for entering a new marketplace.
“Arizona would be interesting because obviously it’s about a 45-minute drive from the Vegas Strip to the Arizona border, but also you have access to Southern California, Colorado, New Mexico, in addition to the fact that Arizona itself is a pretty good, healthy growing marketplace,” Brennan told Sports Handle.
