Legal sports betting in The Valentine State exploded in September thanks to the football season. Arizona passed half a billion in wagers as all three retail locations and 14 of the 17 mobile sportsbooks made a profit.
Arizona’s Department of Gaming announced a September handle of $610.7 million, a 70% month-over-month jump. From those bets the players made $550.6 million — meaning the sportsbooks kept $59.6 million in gross profit.
The hold percentage was 9.9%, which was also above August’s 8.6%. While September’s hold was below July’s 10.6%, the handle was so much higher that the state’s tax bill enjoyed a nice increase. State coffers received $3.2 million from the sportsbooks, marking the highest number since May.
DraftKings separates from FanDuel
FanDuel and DraftKings increased their market dominance — albeit slightly — in September. After combining for 64% of the entire sports betting market in Arizona in August, they now received 65% of the statewide handle.
That being said, it was DraftKings who contributed to the growth. After overcoming FanDuel as the top dog in August (by $400,000), DraftKings is now solidly in the lead. It reported a handle of $218 million, $38 million more than FanDuel’s $179.1 million. FanDuel had more revenue and fewer promotional deductions, which is a plus for its bottom line.
BetMGM remained in third with $89.9 million vs. $50.4 million in August, and Caesars was fourth with $56.2 million ($33.6 million in August). Desert Diamond Sportsbook came in fifth with $25.1 million ($15.3 million in August). Barstool Sportsbook was the last operator to exceed $10 million in bets with $13.3 million ($10.9 million the previous month).
On the retail side, FanDuel saw more handle ($2.5 million) and revenue ($355,000) than MGM and Caesars combined.
