Over the last 12 months, Arizona regulators have constantly been surprised. In a good way.
On Sept. 9, 2021, the state became the biggest in the West to go live with digital and retail event wagering. From the time-release map the geofencing company GeoComply shared on that first day, to reaching $1 billion in handle in under three months, to consistently seeing handle of about $500 million per month, well, Arizona Department of Gaming Director Ted Vogt has been all smiles.
“The first year was better than I expected,” Vogt said. “I think what surprised us the most was the pent-up demand for event wagering in the state, and how consistent it has been. Everything shows us that the fundamentals are there for a strong market.”
The numbers bear that out – Arizona operators were the fastest in U.S. history (at the time) to reach $1 billion in handle, needing only 82 days, and reached $4 billion in handle in eight months. If the numbers stay consistent, Arizona operators likely broke the $5 billion handle barrier in July, 11 months after launch. For comparison, Illinois operators are currently the fastest new market to $5 billion in the post-PASPA era in 16 months. In March, Arizona bettors wagered a record $691 million, and that same month, a single operator -'DraftKings'- surpassed $1 billion in total wagers.