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Arizona sportsbooks fell just short of the $500m mark in December, though still broke the southwestern state’s betting record.
Online and retail operations in the Grand Canyon State handled $499.2m in wagers during the final month of 2021, up 7% from November’s $466.7m.
December’s action capped off a strong first few months for sports betting in Arizona, beating October’s previous all-time-high handle of $486.1m.
Arizona bettors averaged $16.1m per day over the entire month, an approximately $500,000 increase over November’s $15.6m.
C. J. Pierre (Lead Analyst at PlayAZ.com) remarked that the NFL season was a major factor in this high level of betting, even though sportsbooks’ marketing budgets declined.
“The NFL season kept wagering high even as sportsbooks settled into something resembling normal after a surge of promotional spending early on,” said Pierre.
“Importantly, bettor enthusiasm remains high, and Arizonans will become more comfortable with less conventional products such as in-game betting. That should help keep activity brisk through March Madness.”
Arizonans chose to bet online in large numbers. Digital sportsbooks accounted for $994.25 million, 99.1%, and $494.5m of total wagers. For the $4.7m remaining, retail sportsbooks were responsible.
The operators received nearly $40m of gross revenue. This represents a 23% decrease from November’s $51.4m. The state collected $17.3m from gross event betting receipts after $23.1m worth of promotional credits. This yielded $1.7m to the public purse.
Eric Ramsey, an analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network, which includes PlayAZ.com, added: “New York broke many of Arizona’s records after it debuted mobile sportsbooks, but that shouldn’t diminish just how well the state has performed so far.
“We expected Arizona to do well when sports betting launched in September, but the market continues to match the highest expectations with results that rival more mature markets, some with much larger populations.”