March Sets a Record for Arizona Sports Betting Thanks to March Madness & More

Arizona sports betting saw a record intake in the month of March. There are a few factors that seem to have contributed to this fact.

First, the Phoenix Suns saw a strong end to their regular playing season, even if they did fall out early when it came time for the NBA playoffs. Second, March Madness is one of the biggest betting seasons in the country and in Arizona it was no different.

During the month of March, a record $691 million in bets were taken in by Arizona sportsbooks. This is according to an Arizona Department of Gaming report that was released a few days ago. In February, the sports betting handle was $491.1 million, meaning the March handle increased by 40%.

The Director of the Arizona Department of Gaming, Ted Vogt, was excited by the record setting month. He indicated that he was eagerly anticipating seeing how the rest of the first year of Arizona sports betting plays out.

In March, sportsbook operators were able to generate $38.9 million in sports betting revenue, which is a 5.6% hold. This revenue represents an almost 52% increase from the month before, as February saw $25.6 million in sports betting revenue. However, March’s sports betting revenue intake was still below the all-time high that was set in November, which was $51.4. That makes March’s sports betting revenue 24% lower than November’s.

During March, promotions from sportsbooks equaled $18.6 million given out, which lowers the taxable revenue from the sportsbooks to $18.7 million. The state of Arizona was able to take in almost $1.9 million in taxes from sports betting.

In the month of March, almost $687.7 million in mobile bets was taken in by Arizona sportsbooks, which equates to an impressive 99.5% of the overall sports betting handle in the state.

Leading the pack of eighteen sportsbook operators in the state, DraftKings Sportsbook was able to take in $230.2 million in wagers. The hold was 3.1% which generated $7.2 million in revenue for the operator.

FanDuel Sportsbook came in next, taking in $187.4 million in wagers. However, FanDuel was able to generate more revenue with $13.4 million, a hold of 7.2%.

Next, Arizona bettors flocked to BetMGM Sportsbook, which took in $133.7 worth of bets, generating $10.3 million in revenue with a 7.7% hold.

Also in March, two retail sportsbooks were open and accepting bets, handling $3.3 million in wagers. These were the FanDuel Sportsbook at Footprint Center, which took in the majority of the bets at $2.9 million and the Caesars Sportsbook at Chase Field, which took in the remaining $458,758.

The Caesars Sportsbook at Chase Field may have fared better when it came to the end of the NBA season as well as baseball season beginning in the spring when it comes to bets taken in in April and beyond.

There will be other retails sportsbooks opening soon in the state of Arizona. These include a DraftKings Sportsbook at TPC Scottsdale as well as a BetMGM Sportsbook at State Farm Stadium.

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