Indian gaming in Arizona has growth dramatically since the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 made it possible in the state.
Currently there are 23 Indian casinos on reservations.
This contrasts with the racing industry, which is large dead or dying. Dog racing, which once flourished on five tracks, was banned by legislation signed recently by Governor Doug Ducey. Tucson Greyhound Park held its last race.
There are still two thoroughbred racing tracks in Arizona, including the Turf Paradise in Phoenix and Rillito Park in Tucson.
Wendy Davis, associate coordinator of the University of Arizona’s Race Track Industry Program, told PBS News: “In this country, gambling is what funds the track,” adding, “That is the only way racing exists in North America. It funds everything. It funds the racetrack. It funds the purses. It’s the economic driver.”
So far fantasy sports, which are advancing in other states, have been stopped cold in Arizona. Heidi McNeil Staudenmaier, a Phoenix lawyer whose specialty is tribal and gaming law, considers Arizona to be the most restrictive state in America when it comes to gambling.
That doesn’t apply to Indian gaming, however, where the 23 gaming tribes pay about $100 million a year to the state. Staudenmaier told PBS, “Arizona is not looking to expand gambling unless it is done very carefully and on a limited basis and to assure that it’s regulated. To get over the daily fantasy sports issue, I just think all stakeholders need to get comfortable with it to assure that it is permissible and that it is for the benefit of everybody . . .”
There is wide disagreement among attorneys in the state as to whether fantasy sports are legal or illegal. That seems to be why no companies that offer the games has taken a chance in Arizona.
Nevertheless, the number of people who play fantasy sports in the U.S. has more than doubled since 2009. On average, they spend $556 a year on the games.
One player of fantasy sports would like to see them legalized in Arizona. He told PBS: “I’m frustrated with our laws (in Arizona) because they are completely upside down in the sense that while many people don’t see daily fantasy sports as gambling, there are a lot of people in this state that do.”
Recently state Attorney General Mark Brnovic sent a warning letter to DraftKings and FanDuel saying that the state had taken “a strong stance against Internet gambling, which is where daily fantasy sports betting falls.”
Previous opinions by state attorneys general have concluded that state law doesn’t allow an exception for the games.
Legalizing fantasy sports could also potential endanger the $100 million Indian gaming cash cow by threatening the tribe’s exclusivity—which could open the door to more Indian casinos.
