Arizona Sets Record With $591.2 million Handle in January

On Monday, the Arizona Department of Gaming announced that sports betting handle for January reached a new record of $591.2 million, contributing to a national record in handle, revenue, and state tax revenue

“We saw another substantial month of sports betting in Arizona to kick off 2023, with nearly $600 million wagered during January,” ADG Director Jackie Johnson said. “I look forward to monitoring how wagering progresses throughout the rest of the year.”

The total amount of money wagered nationwide in January was $11.5 billion, higher than the previous record of $10.6 billion in December. This increase is mainly due to Ohio’s launch of sports betting on January 1.

Arizona sportsbook operators earned a gross revenue of $47.5 million before any deductions were made. After accounting for the federal excise tax and operator losses, the gross revenue was reduced to $46.2 million.

$29 million in adjusted gross revenue

Following the subtraction of promotional credits and free bets, Arizona could tax $29 million in adjusted gross revenue, which resulted in $2.9 million in revenue for the state.

The national gross revenue of sports betting facilities during January was over $1 billion, which was the first time this figure had exceeded the billion mark since the implementation of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA).

FINAL January 2023 Top 10 #SportsBetting handles by state:

1 New York ~$1.8B
2 Ohio $1.11B
3 New Jersey $1.08B
4 Illinois $1.07B
5 Nevada $935.8M
6 Pennsylvania $772.3M
7 ARIZONA $591.2M <-NEW
8 Colorado $547.2M
9 Virginia $513.2M
10 Michigan $490.9M#GamblingTwitter

— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) March 27, 2023

Regarding operator performance, the overall percentage of revenue earned by the house in January was 9.3 percent, slightly lower than the previous month’s 9.5 percent. However, this rate still exceeded the industry’s old standard of 7 percent, which has become outdated due to operators’ increased emphasis on parlay wagering.

The total tax revenue collected by states from sports betting for the month was $190.2 million, $61 million higher than the same period last year. More than half of this amount came from New York and Ohio. Seven other states collected $5 million or more in tax revenue during the period.

Arizona’s sports betting handle in January also increased by 3.3 percent compared to December, reaching $591.3 million. Compared to the same period last year, the handle increased by 4.9 percent.

Arizona sportsbook breakdown by earnings and revenue

FanDuel was the most preferred platform among sports betting enthusiasts in Arizona for the period. It remained the only mobile sportsbook with over $20 million in monthly gross revenue, earning over $21 million with a 10.8 percent hold on the $195.5 million handle. Despite this success, FanDuel’s adjusted revenue was down by 3.8 percent compared to December due to a higher promotional spend of $5.8 million.
DraftKings generated $8.8 million in gross revenue and came with a handle of $171.4 million. The sportsbook also increased its promotional offers by 47 percent to $5 million, its highest since spending $7.3 million in September.
BetMGM also maintained its position as a strong player in Arizona’s sports betting market, achieving a double-digit hold for the seventh consecutive month with a win rate of 10.5 percent, resulting in $9.5 million in gross revenue. Typically known for being more aggressive in providing credits to bettors, BetMGM decreased its promotional spend by 40.8 percent to $3.8 million from December.
Desert Diamond was a surprise entrant to the fourth spot in mobile revenue, making over $2.8 million in gross revenue due to a 14.1 percent win rate on a monthly handle of over $20 million, a record for them. Despite only having a handle of $28 million throughout 2022 after its launch in February, its gross revenue for January surpassed last year’s entire haul of $2.5 million.
Caesars came in fifth place when it comes to revenue. Caesars had a handle of $59.2 million in accepted wagers, marking its third straight month in seven figures.

FanDuel Leads the Retail Sportsbooks

For the second consecutive month, FanDuel led the three retail sportsbook operators in both handle and revenue.

Operator	January Handle	January Revenue
FanDuel	$2.4 Million	$275,325.30
BetMGM	$1.3 Million	$122,988.86
Caesars	$920,772.64	–

Reasons for Continued Growth

Grand Canyon State sports bettors hit the window at a record rate and these upcoming sporting events could help see further growth in the Arizona betting markets.