The Arizona sports betting market is getting another boost, as BetMGM Arizona opens its first retail sportsbook in the state Friday morning.
The facility, inside Gila River Hotels and Casinos’ Vee Quiva property in Laveen Village on the southwest side of the Valley, is the fourth retail sportsbook to open in Arizona.
The property is the first of the three Gila River Hotels and Casinos to open a sportsbook. Wild Horse Pass' facility opens Nov. 11, and Lone Butte will open Nov. 13.
There will also be a BetMGM Sportsbook inside Gila River’s new Santan Mountain Casino, on the southeast corner of Gilbert Road and Hunt Highway south of Chandler. That facility is expected to open in late 2022 or early 2023.
Gila River is hosting a grand opening ceremony at the Vee Quiva facility Friday, with NASCAR drivers Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick participating in a Q&A. The facility will be open in time for local bettors to wager on college football, as well as the weekend’s Arizona NFL betting schedule.
BetMGM Arizona is partnered with the Gila River Community and the Arizona Cardinals, the lone professional sports team-tribe-operator partnership in the state.
A BetMGM Sportsbook is scheduled to open inside the Cardinals’ State Farm Stadium in Glendale in time for the 2022 NFL regular season.
Back in early September, Gila River Hotels and Casinos CEO Kenneth Manuel told Bookies.com his group was thrilled to launch sports betting operations alongside BetMGM Arizona and the Cardinals.
“This partnership and being able to offer a legalized version of sports betting that will be regulated as well, I think is what I'm looking forward to,” Manuel said.
Placing In-Person Bets in Arizona
The other three retail Arizona sportsbooks that have already opened are FanDuel Sportsbook Arizona’s location at the Phoenix Suns’ Footprint Center, Caesars Sportsbook Arizona’s betting window at Chase Field, and TwinSpires Sportsbook’s location at Mazatzal Hotel and Casino in Payson.
The first two facilities opened alongside the new Arizona sports betting apps market on Sept. 9, while TwinSpires’ White Mountain facility opened Sept. 16.
The plan for Caesars Sportsbook Arizona is to eventually open a retail facility inside the former Game 7 Grill, located behind the third base side of Chase Field. The Caesars Sportsbook, which is operating in partnership with the Arizona Diamondbacks, is expected to open in time for the 2022 MLB regular season.
