Share
The first June with legal sports betting available in Arizona now looks like a small edifice that rock climbers practice on before they take on legitimate peaks. Arizona sportsbooks blew their same-month last year numbers away in June, more than doubling what they paid to the state last year.
June’s sports betting activity also keeps Arizona’s licensed sportsbooks on track to easily surpass their 2022 numbers. In fact, the percentage at which they are ahead of their 2022 pace grew during the month.
June brings it for Arizona sportsbooks
After May Arizona sports betting revenue represented an annual downturn, June shook off the doldrums and climbed to a new elevation.
The amount of money bet on sports in Arizona using the state’s licensed sportsbooks was 18.9% higher than in June 2022. That’s just for starters, however. The amount of money that sportsbooks won from bettors improved by an impressive 44.5% compared to June 2022.
As a result, Arizona saw a 53.1% year-over-year bump in privilege fees paid on that activity during the month. As legal sports betting began in the state in September 2021, June 2023 now stands as the best such month on record in Arizona.
Books actually have fared better in terms of keeping more of the money they took in bets in other months this year as their win percentage sat at just 7% for the month. However, that’s still a respectable performance as an industry standard considers between 5% and 10% good.
Because of the jump in activity, sportsbooks headed into the summer with some momentum. They are even more likely to leave 2022 in the dust as well.
Revenue up more than 20% so far in 2023
Through the first six months of this year, legal sports betting has produced more than $257.7 million in gross revenue for sportsbooks according to figures from the Arizona Department of Gaming. That’s almost $56 million more than the books won through the first half of 2022, equating to an improvement of 21.6%.
After May, that increase sat at under 19%. In 2022, Arizona sportsbooks collected more than $472.6 million in gross revenue. Thus, they are already on track for their first half-billion revenue year with potential for more.
The fall and winter months tend to be among the most lucrative for sports betting in Arizona. For that reason, a total improvement of 25% or 30% could be possible by the time that 2023 ends. That would put gross revenue for the year over $600 million on the high end.
Reaching that even higher summit will depend on several factors, including the Arizona Cardinals’ performance in the upcoming NFL season. Either way, it looks like Arizona sports betting industry is not yet done climbing.
