The recent Arizona Department of Gaming announcement shows sports betting continues to be strong in the Valentine State, although sportsbooks may not see it the same way.
Compared to September, handle grew by roughly 8% and saw a 22% spike over the past year. However, online operators are the only ones to enjoy the boost in action. Mobile sportsbooks saw $65 million in more wagers, but retail locations fell from $12.5 million to $6.8 million.
But just because statewide handle rose doesn’t mean sportsbooks fared better than the previous month. Revenue-wise the numbers actually declined. After nearly $80 million in gross hold in September, it fell 30% to $53.7 million.
Looking back, year-over-year revenue haul was also disappointing. Despite seeing nearly $150 million more in wagers versus October 2023, gross revenue was actually $2 million less than last year. This gave the state $2.3 million in tax revenue, down from nearly $5 million last month, and $3.2 million from a year ago.
Which sportsbooks came out on top
Arizona’s five leading online books, as in September, accounted for 89% of the total handle, nearly $700 million in action.
| Operator | October Handle | Gross Revenue |
| DraftKings | $261.8 million | $15.1 million |
| FanDuel | $252.5 million | $21.7 million |
| BetMGM | $99.5 million | $5.7 million |
| Caesars | $44.8 million | $1.9 million |
| Fanatics | $40.5 million | $2.8 million |
Just like last month, FanDuel reported the most revenue despite losing to DraftKings in monthly handle. FanDuel also maintained this lead after $9.5 million in free bet deductions. DraftKings was a close second with $8.5 million. Together they made up roughly 60% of the free bets Arizona bettors took. With the NFL season past its opening month, books reduced their promotional spend and free bet deductions fell from $37 million to $30 million.
12 sportsbooks in Arizona reported over $1 million in handle and 11 were profitable in October. Four of those (DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and Caesars) also have retail locations. Of the four, Caesars was the only retail operator to report a loss.
