Native American Tribes in Arizona enjoy a monopoly on gaming in the state but that isn’t the case with sports betting, and tribes fear they might be left behind.
When sports betting was signed into law by Governor Doug Ducey in April 2021 tribal leaders had agreed to get 10 of the 20 available licenses. The other 10 went to professional sports teams.
That meant of the 16 tribes that applied for licenses six were denied. That led to lawsuits and an introduction of Senate bill 1674 to increase the number of sports betting licenses from 10 to 23 to include more tribes the possibility to get a license.
Those that have a license have done moderately well but they are lagging against the state’s leaders, such as DraftKings and FanDuel.
The 10 tribes that have sports betting have partnerships with smaller sportsbook operators such as Betway, Golden Nugget, Superbook, and Unibet.
September’s report from the Arizona Department of Gaming showed that the amount of sports bets the tribes took in was approximately $18 million. The total for the state was $538 million.
Competition with the big three sportsbooks, DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM, is something tribes will find hard to overcome Jason Giles, executive director of the National Indian Gaming Association to the Phoenix New Times.
“The big fear now is loss of exclusivity,” Giles said. “Gaming is the only thing that has ever worked for us. Since 1492 when Columbus landed, it’s the only thing that has worked. That’s why we fight so hard.”
It’s only going to get worse. Sports teams are planning on new facilities to attract sports bettors. BetMGM, who has a partnership with the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, opened a sportsbook on the property in the fall and the 17,000-square-foot facility is billed as one of the largest such venues in the country.
TPC Scottsdale, which hosts a PGA Tour event on Super Bowl weekend, just broke ground this week on a retail sports betting facility across the street from the golf course. It will be operated by DraftKings, giving them another avenue to bring in wagers and add to their state leading total handle.
Many of the casinos that have sports betting are not going to try and compete with the big boys, instead they plan on using wagering as an added amenity to their casinos.
“The amount of money generated in sports betting is not a lot. It’s not worth it,” Giles said. “In the rush to get to sports betting, we need to realize that sports betting is an amenity to draw people into our casino hotels.”
