For the second time this week, Arizona has released monthly data from sports betting – October quickly followed September – and again it is a blockbuster month: just as September was the most lucrative first month of legal betting a US state had ever seen, so too October was the most lucrative second month of betting a US state had ever seen.
In both months, it was quantity of bets as well as gross operator revenue that broke records. In October, these numbers got to $486.1m and $37.5m respectively.
These figures have cast Arizona’s debut on the sports betting market in a new light: the Grand Canyon State is experiencing, by a significant measure, the most impressive entry into the sports betting market in American history.
Its first two months has seen it take in $777.3m in wagers, which is over twice the amount seen by the previous record holder, Virginia, which had $324.7m in its first two months.
Its operator revenue numbers were similarly dramatic. The $69.8m Arizona has seen its first two months well exceeds that of Tennessee’s $27.1m, which was the previous record holder.
Tax revenue – $1.1m on $10.7m of taxable revenue – was not equal to these numbers since sportsbooks were able to write off $57.2m in promotions.
Unsurprisingly, operators are eager to tap into this booming market. DraftKings and FanDuel, as in many markets across the country, came out on top.
The opening months of sports betting in the state surely benefitted from an active sports calendar, with football, basketball, hockey, and the baseball playoffs all commencing over these months. Indeed, state officials and operators rushed to see betting go live by September to capture this period which typically sees an uptick in betting activity nationwide.
