ARIZONA SPORTS BETTING FACING A POTENTIAL DELAY

Arizona sports betting could be delayed from the anticipated September 9th launch due to a lawsuit. This past Thursday in Phoenix, a lawsuit was filed by the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe against Arizona Governor Doug Ducey and the Arizona Department of Gaming director Ted Vogt. It was filed in Maricopa County Superior Court.

The lawsuit seeks to have the courts stop the licensing process for Arizona sports betting. Back in April, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed HB 2772 into law. Ever since, throughout the summer, lawmakers have been approving rules to govern AZ sports betting. The bill as it stands now currently allows for 20 licenses for Arizona sportsbooks.

Ten of these licenses would be for sports entities and then would be for tribal gaming. As of this past week, regulators had begun the process of approving operators for Arizona sports betting licenses. However, this lawsuit may throw a wrench in those plans.

The lawsuit is alleging that the Arizona sports betting bill actually violates the state's constitution. It also claims that the bill infringes on the tribe's exclusivity to offer gaming in the state of Arizona. Arizona sports betting is on track to launch quicker than pretty much any other state has been able to.

Now, that launch may be delayed as a court needs to hear the motion for a temporary restraining order and injunction. It also appears that this is not the only lawsuit filed against the Arizona Department of Gaming.

During this tumultuous time, the Arizona Department of Gaming has also decided on 18 of the 20 available Arizona sports betting licenses that are available. Ten tribal licenses have been decided and eight professional sports licenses. As of now, the proposed launch date, September 9th, is also the same night as the start of the NFL season.

At this time, only fifteen of the Arizona sportsbook partners have been announced. Here are the ones that are known at this time:

• Bally Bet is partnered with the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury
• Barstool Sportsbook is partnered with the Phoenix Raceway
• BetFred is partnered with the Ft. McDowell Yavapai Nation
• BetMGM is partnered with the NFL's Arizona Cardinals
• BetRivers is partnered with the Indoor Football League's Arizona Rattlers
• Betway is partnered with the San Juan Southern Palute Tribe
• Caesars Sportsbook is partnered with the MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks
• DraftKings Sportsbook is partnered with TPC Scottsdale
• FanDuel Sportsbook is partnered with the NBA's Phoenix Suns
• Fubo Gaming is partnered with the Ak-Chin Native American Community
• Golden Nugget is partnered with the Hualapai Tribe
• SuperBook is partnered with the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe
• TwinSpires is partnered with the Tonto Apache Tribe
• Unibet is partnered with the Quechan Tribe
• WynnBET is partnered with the San Carlos Apache Tribe

These sportsbooks are now able to begin signing up potential sports bettors. And, daily fantasy sports contests have also launched this weekend in Arizona.

As of now, there are four license winners who have not announced their sportsbook partners. Some of these are:

• The Navajo Nation
• The NHL's Arizona Coyotes
• The Tohono O'odham Nation

There are also some big names that did not receive Arizona sportsbook licenses. One of the surprising names to be left out is PointsBet, which partnered with the Yavapai-Apache Nation.

BlueBet also did not receive a license, which had partnered with the Colorado River Native American Tribes, but it does not have any US operations or brand. And, MaximBet, which partnered with the White Mountain Apache Tribe also did not receive a license.

We will have to wait to see how this legal shakeup will affect the Arizona sports betting launch still set for September 9th.

Written by Allie Nelson, our US Sports Betting Industry expert. You can learn more about our author's expertise here.