The Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG) reports the total sports betting handle reached more than $496.6 million for the month, including $473.8 million from mobile sportsbooks. The state’s four retail operators accounted for the remaining $22.8 million.
The total handle marks a 21.1% increase from the $410.1 million collected in July and a 38.7% year-on-year rise from August 2023. Last August’s handle was $358.8 million when the state was home to just three retail sportsbooks.
Arizona sports betting operators collected around $37.4 million in revenue in August. The state’s 15 mobile sportsbooks accounted for more than 99% of this total, with $37.1 million in net receipts, while retail operators contributed the remaining $210,608.
August’s totals also resulted in more than $2.2 million in privilege fees paid to the state. Mobile sportsbooks must pay a 10% fee to operate, while retail operators pay 8%. Arizona sportsbooks have now spent $97.3 million in privilege fees since their launch in September 2021.
DraftKings strengthens its lead against FanDuel
The four online operators that also have retail sportsbooks led in August, with bet365 also placing in the top five. No year-over-year figures are available for comparison for bet365, as the operator only launched in the state in February, just in time for Super Bowl LVIII. Last August, Desert Diamond Mobile was the fifth most popular operator, collecting a handle of $15.3 million.
DraftKings took the top spot in August with almost $170.3 million in handle, while FanDuel also reported an impressive $145.8 million. The competition among the top two was much tighter last August, with a mere 0.4% difference between them. This August, DraftKings’ mobile sportsbook saw around 15.5% more wagers than FanDuel’s after reporting the largest year-over-year jump of 47.4%. Caesars was the only top-five Arizona sports betting operator to report a decline from last August, with its revenue down 16.4%.
| Operator | August 2023 | August 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $115.5 million | $170.2 million | +47.4% |
| FanDuel | $115.0 million | $145.8 million | +26.7% |
| BetMGM | $50.4 million | $56.8 million | +12.6% |
| Caesars | $33.6 million | $28.1 million | -16.4% |
| bet365 | N/A | $22.4 million | N/A |
Looking ahead to the winter months
With the 2024-25 NFL season kicking off earlier in the month, Arizona will likely report another month-on-month increase in handle and revenue for September. Last September, the state reported $59.7 million in sports betting revenue from a $610.7 million handle. The regular season will run through January 2025, making for a busy winter period.
