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Arizona continues to move forward with its move to launch legalized sports betting in the state.
The Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG) which is the gaming regulator in the state announced on 09 August that it had received a total of 25 betting operator licenses even though it was only going to issue a total of 20 betting operator licenses.
When the ADG announced its license application process, the regulator made it clear that 10 betting licenses will be issued to tribal operators in the state and another 10 licenses to professional sports franchises. The operator has received 10 license applications from sports franchises but has received a total of 15 license applications from tribal operators.
The ADG is currently in the process of reviewing all applications and is expected to release an official list of qualified license applications on August 16. So far the ADG has not published any names of the applicants who have applied. Once the list of qualified applicants gets released, the gaming regulator will have a total of 10 days to make a decision on which applications will get license approval and which ones get rejected.
12 News
The ADG anticipated that they would get a strong response for betting licenses and outlined some of the criteria that they will use to select which applications get approved. The key criteria that the ADG will consider include having a reputed brand image in Arizona, the ability to market effectively and a commitment to contribute financially to state apart from betting taxes.
Some of the sports franchises that have announced betting partners include the NBA Suns and FanDuel; NASCAR- Phoenix Raceway with Barstool Sports; MLB Diamondbacks and Caesars; PGA-TPC Scottsdale and DraftKings; WNBA Mercury and Bally’s’; NFL Cardinals and BetMGM.
Selection Criteria For Tribal Operators
The ADG will have to make a decision to cut five tribal operators as only 10 out of the 15 can be approved. The gaming regulator has made it clear that it will show preference to tribal operators who have no ties to the gaming industry, tribes that are located in close proximity to metropolitan places in the state and tribes that have a rural gaming presence.
Some of the tribes that have announced betting partners include San Carlos Apache Tribe with WynnBET, Yavapi-Apache Nation with PointsBet and Ak-Chin Indian Community with Harrah’s.
