Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed a bill to legalize sports betting in the United States. The measure will allow sports betting through licenses issued to professional sports teams and tribes, as well as bets on fantasy sports and new Keno games on horse racing tracks.
The project will allow up to four new casinos in the metropolitan area of the capital Phoenix, but the documents suggest that only two will be built in the near future. The sites are located on the lands of the Tohono O’Odham Nation, in the west of the metropolitan region, and on the properties of the Gila River Indigenous Community, in the southeast area.
In addition, 11 new casinos will be authorized across the state, but only four of them are allowed to open in the first ten years.
“There is no doubt that Arizona has grown and changed significantly since the last major update in 2003. It is important that we consider these changes in our policies and in our pacts,” said the state governor.
Meanwhile, the tribes have received ten licenses and permission to operate sports betting at 24 casinos across the state, with an option for online games also set soon.
In addition, tribes will have the right to operate more than 6,000 new slot machines, as well as an increase every two years, once the new deals are formally approved by the federal government.
Stephen Roe Lewis, from the Gila River indigenous community, commented: “We discussed before we agreed. And we fight before we find our middle ground. But here we are, celebrating the rarest ‘unicorn’ in political life: a genuine victory for all of us ”.
Companies are already moving to gain access to the Arizona market
Thus, companies in the sector are already mobilizing to enter the state market. Recently, DraftKings expanded its cooperation with the PGA Tour to expand business in Arizona.
“When DraftKings became the first Official PGA TOUR Betting Operator last summer, several possibilities opened up for us to innovate together,” said Ezra Kucharz, the business director at the fantasy sports and betting company.
He added: “This important effort to seek an unprecedented betting service with PGA TOUR is proof of the vision of both organizations that we believe will end up benefiting Arizona sports fans who want to bet legally on sports.”