The rollout of legalized sports betting in Arizona will take its next step on Wednesday morning.
That’s because the Arizona Department of Gaming will host its first of two scheduled meetings with prospective operators, where parties will have an opportunity to receive guidance and ask questions about the rollout process for their Arizona sports betting apps.
The meetings, which will run from 9:30-10:30 a.m. (local time) on Wednesday and at the same time on Sept. 1, come in the run-up to the start of Arizona sports betting on Sept. 9. The state plans to launch in time for the start of the 2021 NFL regular season.
Arizona Operator Update
So far, only FanDuel Arizona has come forward publicly about receiving approval from the department to operate as a sports betting and daily fantasy sports operator in the Grand Canyon state.
RELATED: FanDuel is Set for Arizona Launch
Additionally, Penn National Gaming and Barstool Sportsbook has been approved by the department to offer sports betting through the company’s partnership with Phoenix International Raceway, it confirmed in an email Tuesday.
The approvals come less than a week before the launch of legalized daily fantasy sports in Arizona, with sites able to hit the ground running on Saturday.
At least 26 parties have applied for approval to operate daily fantasy sports or sports betting in the state, which has 20 licenses split evenly among those partnered up with Arizona tribes and professional sports teams.
The total number of applicants exceeded the number of available licenses, however, triggering an eight-day extension of the licensing process.
The department is required to notify all applicants of their licensing status by Friday, with pre-registration and account creation beginning the following day.
Who’s Applied For A Permit?
So far, we know that four professional sports teams in the Phoenix area, in the Suns (FanDuel), Phoenix Mercury (Bally’s), Arizona Diamondbacks (Caesars) and the Arizona Cardinals (BetMGM) have applied for a license.
RELATED: BetMGM Deal With Cardinals Grows List of Arizona Partnerships
The United Soccer League Championship’s Phoenix Rising FC have partnered with an unidentified party. Longtime PGA Tour stop, the TPC at Scottsdale, has applied for a permit in partnership with DraftKings to operate a sportsbook at the facility.
The Arizona Coyotes of the NHL remain the only Phoenix pro team that has not announced a sports betting partnership.
Another Tribe Partner Announced
A Pascua Yaqui Tribe casino in Tucson — Casino Del Sol — is partnering with Scientific Games to offer its OpenSports wagering platform, they announced Tuesday.
The sportsbook of the tribe, SolSports, and Scientific Games will have sports wagering at Casino Del Sol and at self-service kiosks throughout the casino and at Casino of the Sun, a sister property also in Tucson.
As for Arizona tribal partnerships, here’s who has applied for a sports betting/DFS permit to date: TwinSpires (Mazatal Hotel & Casino/Tonto Apache Nation); PointsBet (Cliff Castle Hotel/Yavapai-Apache Nation); William Hill/Caesars (Harrah’s AK-Chin Casino); BlueBet (Colorado River Indian Tribes); WynnBet (Apache Gold and Sky casinos/San Carlos Apache); Unibet (Fort Yuma Indian Reservation); Betfred (Fort McDowell Nation Gila River Community).
