Arizona has reported its sports betting numbers for December 2021 and it was a respectable performance: with a $499.2m handle, the state was just shy of becoming the ninth state in the country to reach $500m in one month.
December also marked the third month in a row when the state reached at least $466m.
December’s numbers – which account for both online and retail sportsbooks – were a 7% increase from what had been seen in November, when bets reached $466.7m. December’s performance also broke the previous record of $486.1m, set in October 2021.
Per day, bettors averaged $16.1m, up from the $15.6m seen in November.
In terms of revenue, sportsbooks generated $39.8m, a 23% decline from the $51.4m seen the previous month. At 8%, the hold was among the highest seen in the United States and, indeed, the highest among the nation’s ten largest markets.
Sportsbooks spent $21.3m on promotional credits, meaning the state could tax $17.3m in wagering receipts. This generated $1.7m in tax revenue for the state.
Sports betting is still in its early stages in the Grand Canyon State, having only gone live in September. From then, it rode the wave of a busy fall sports schedule: NFL football, NCAA football, the baseball playoffs and NBA basketball.
So far, Arizona has seen $1.7bn in sports handle and $161.1m in gross revenue.
As the later fall months and the early months of 2022 get reported, expect the performance of the state to continue being robust, at least through the March Madness NCAA Division I basketball tournament.
