Golden Nugget Launches In Arizona

In Arizona, the first DraftKings-powered sportsbook from Golden Nugget has launched. At the beginning of February, a soft-launch of the Golden Nugget Sportsbook site took place. Mobile apps from the site are set to launch in the next few weeks.

The new Golden Nugget Sportsbook site is using the SBTech sportsbook engine from DraftKings. Last year, DraftKings acquired Golden Nugget Online Gaming. The deal is set to close early this year. DraftKings has indicated that it will ultimately move all the Golden Nugget Online Gaming products onto its own platform.

Currently, Golden Nugget Online Gaming is still using sportsbook technology from Scientific Games in Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey, and Michigan.

In Arizona, the Golden Nugget Sportsbook is the 14th online sportsbook to launch in the state. Number 15 should be the Hard Rock Sportsbook, which is preparing to launch. At this time, DraftKings has a 32% share of the sportsbook market in the state, making it the leading sportsbook in Arizona.

In November 2021, the Arizona sports betting handle was $66 million. The total handle for the first three months of Arizona sports betting has been $1.2 billion. And, this could just be the start.

There is a new bill in the Arizona state Senate that would add 12 new tribal sports betting licenses in the state.

The Arizona Golden Nugget product uses Strive Gaming’s player account management platform. This is the system that handles the backend processes like withdrawals, deposits, and bonuses.

The president of Golden Nugget Online Gaming, Thomas Winter, indicated that they chose their player account management platform purposefully. He feels that Strive Gaming had the best ability to quickly integrate and launch their sports betting engine, without sacrificing any functionality. He also stated that Golden Nugget Online Gaming has been impressed with the company, including the team and the platform.

Golden Nugget is the third partner for Strive in the United States since the company’s launch in May of 2021. Strive was founded by two former Kambi executives.

The Strive player account management system also backs the Tohono O’odham Tribe’s Desert Diamond mobile app in the state.

If more sportsbooks are able to open in Arizona this year, the market could see an even bigger boom. So, if the new bill in the state Senate passes, that could be a great indicator of future market growth in the state.

Written by Allie Nelson, our US Sports Betting Industry Expert.