It may not be New York, but Arizona is a powerhouse in the sports betting scene. In the month of November, when bettors had plenty of action to pick from, its not surprising that statewide handle was so strong.
The Arizona Department of Gaming reported that the 14 mobile and four retail sportsbooks combined for a whopping $897.6 million in wagers in November, a 13.4% monthly increase. Compared to November of last year, handle grew 25.8%.
The online sportsbooks enjoyed the vast majority of the action, seeing over 99% of bets. Retail markets announced $7.6 million.
After all the good news from the sheer amount of money the operators saw in November, things were even better in terms of revenue. After deducting $26 million in free bets (slightly less than October), adjusted revenue came to $57.4 million, double the previous month and well above September’s $40 million.
With numbers like that, it's tough to lose money. Of the 18 operators, just two (Bally's and Hard Rock) did not report a profit (although both only hit that threshold after taking deductions). And all four brick-and-mortar sites were in the green.
From that, the tax bill came to $5.7 million.
DraftKings still on top in a close race
| Operator | November Handle | Gross Revenue (after free bet deductions) |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $289.1 million | $17.9 million |
| FanDuel | $286.4 million | $22.3 million |
| BetMGM | $111.1 million | $8.1 million |
| Caesars | $51.6 million | $3.2 million |
| Fanatics | $42.2 million | $1.9 million |
They may not be correlated but the top three Arizona sports betting operators are also the biggest givers of free bets. DraftKings and FanDuel both recorded $7 million while BetMGM had $4 million.
Of the 14 online sportsbooks, five paid a high price for their free bet strategy. These companies cut their revenue by at least half, meaning their free bets deductions were higher than their final adjusted revenue. bet365, Desert Diamond Mobile, and Fanatics were in this category although they still made money in the end.
As mentioned earlier, Ballys and Hard Rock were not so lucky.
