Arizona Enjoys Sports Betting Milestone Thanks to September Football

It's well-known just how important the return of professional and college football is to the legal sports betting landscape, and the providers' bottom line.

The Arizona Department of Gaming released its September earnings report, and to no surprise, Arizona sports betting apps had their best month since March and experienced both year-over-year and month-over-month increases in handle and revenue totals.

With September's figures, Arizona sports betting became the quickest to reach a combined $1 billion in revenue. It took only 25 months to reach the milestone $1-billion profit plateau, besting the 27 months of Illinois sports betting apps, 29 months of Virginia sportsbooks, New York sports betting apps' 31 months, and the 35 months it took New Jersey sports betting apps.

$610.7 million wagered

Arizona bettors spent $610.7 million through betting apps and at retail locations in September. That represents a 13.5% year-over-year increase from September 2022 and is more than $250 million (or about 70%) than was bet in August 2023.

It was just the second time in 2023 that Arizona sports betting providers eclipsed $600 million in bets - the first time since March that they reached that plateau.

Roughly $605.2 million of the overall $610.7 million handle came from Arizona sports betting sites, while retail accounted for just more than $4 million of the overall September handle.

$32.6 million in adjusted gross income

Revenues for providers painted a positive picture of the NFL-fueled industry, signaling increased usage of Arizona sportsbook promos going forward. Close to $32.6 million in adjusted gross revenue was reported from the spike in Arizona handle for September.

Arizona betting sites made up $32 million of the net revenue total, with retail providers making up the rest.

The combined 9.8% hold rate allowed $3.2 million in taxes to be collected from the $32.6-million net revenue total. It brought the year-to-date tax total to $24.7 million for the first nine months of 2023. That figure is up $6.3 million from the same period last year.

Gross receipts before deductions and free bets came in at $59.7 million. It means that a whopping $27.1 million in credits and free bets dampened September profits.

Promotional spending wound up being the second-highest monthly total for the Grand Canyon State since the $31.2 million reported during the first full month of Arizona sports betting in September 2021.

Roughly $59.7 million in gross gaming revenue is almost double the $31.6 million from August and is about 8.2% better than reported in September 2022.

The Big 2 rule

DraftKings and FanDuel continued to be the most popular Arizona sports betting apps in September. The two betting behemoths made up about 65% of the state's total handle for the month.

DraftKings is the top-performing Arizona sportsbook of all time with $3.82 billion in wagers since launch, with FanDuel only $11.3 million behind.

DraftKings led the way and set a notable record along the way. Its $218-million September handle set new a high for the Arizona legal sports betting scene, and $20.9 million in revenues for September ranked second among Arizona providers for the month. The $11.4 million in DraftKings promos and credits was the second-most for any provider during a given month.

FanDuel was second in terms of September handle with $179.2 million in bets but topped the revenue battle with $22.7 million, thanks to a better-than-DraftKings 12.7% hold.

BetMGM checked in third with $89.9 million in September wagers and $9.9 million in gross winnings with Caesars rounding out the top four with $56.2 million in bets for the month and $4.5 million in September profits.