NOBODY IS BETTING ON SPORTS IN AZ

Plus, Check Out This “Disclaimer” A Reader Sent In

Hi Arizona Gaming Guide,

You guys have been talking about sports betting for a while now. I see all the casinos have the sports books too but I don’t see a lot of people in the sports books except for important games. Are you sure Arizona is big on sports betting?

James Valencia Glendale, AZ

Hi James! Thanks for your question as we think it’s a great observation on your part. There are a lot of sports books that appear empty, certainly plenty of unused sports betting kiosks in the casinos too! What we don't see is the volume of players on their phones across the state participating in daily fantasy sports and other event wagering.

We can tell you there is a lot of wagering going on all over Arizona. So much that whenever the Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG) releases their reports on sports betting it’s difficult not to notice!

For example, their latest release is below:

Arizonans wagered over $618 million in October of 2022, according to a new report by ADG. This represents a 27.3% increase when compared to October of 2021. “It is clear Arizona’s sports betting industry continues to grow, with over $132 million more dollars wagered in October of 2022 when compared to the same month of 2021,” said Ted Vogt, Director, ADG. “With Super Bowl LVII and the Phoenix Waste Management Open on the horizon, I am excited to see how these major sports tourism events impact the state’s sports betting industry in the coming months.” Privilege fees totaled over $2.9 million in the month, resulting in approximately $27 million in privilege fees collected by the state since the start of legal operations.

$618 million in wagers in one month is a lot! Sure, it may be coming from a small percentage of Arizonans, but even if there is a large group of Arizonans wagering on sports, you won’t see all of it when you come across a casino sports book or a kiosk in the casino. Team members have found losing tickets for wagers over $1,000 in casinos. Someone is making these bets!

To the Experts,

Check out this pic I took [recently at a casino] when I was traveling. What do you have to say about it? Thanks for your answer and a really great magazine!

Hi William! We appreciate you too! So everyone has the benefit of understanding your picture, we’ll quote the text now: Important Legal Notice. Video footage by [the casino] is being recorded in and around these premises. All persons entering here consent to the use of their photograph, image, voice, and likeness in the footage, and in the promotion of [the casino] in any and all media, throughout the universe, in perpetuity, without remuneration [Editor’s Note: payment]. Do not enter these premises if you do not consent to the use of your photograph, image, voice and/or likeness in this manner.

A few things, it appears this is a picture from the player tracking display panel on a slot machine. So, guests can’t read the notice until they are actually on the premises? Hmm That’s not exactly fair! I’d hope guests have the opportunity to read this legal note prior to being in the casino.

And, obviously a team of lawyers have written this, but it’s kind of a turnoff. Perhaps the lawyers should have talked to the casino Marketing Department first? Something a little friendlier than “leave if you don’t like it,” perhaps?

Finally, we won’t be surprised when more casinos begin displaying this type of message. What comes to mind immediately is this legal notice allows the casino to post surveillance video of a guest hitting a large win, as it happened, on social media for promotional purposes and the guest can’t do a thing about it! $