Az Bet
Posted By admin On 11/04/22Arizona State Rep. Jeff Weninger met on the air with Phoenix sports radio’s Jody Oehler the week before Super Bowl LV to talk NFL picks and sports betting.
It had been two days since Weninger filed HB 2772 to legalize sports betting and expand gaming in the State of Arizona. Now, the proposal is moving closer to a vote on the floor of the state House. Passage there would give the bill a shot at Senate approval, moving the measure a step closer to becoming law.
That is terrific news for Arizonans who have waited years to make more than a friendly wager on sports without traveling out of state. It’s also a proposed win for tribal casinos and pro sports teams that could increase profits by running sportsbooks in the state, both in-person and online through mobile apps.
Add proposed legalization of daily fantasy sports wagering and more gaming at fraternal organizations, and the measure seems like a sure thing – maybe.
Arizona represents one of the many states with confusing gambling laws. With offline sports betting legalised at 55 locations, and Indian Casinos monopolising gambling in Arizona, it is a bumpy road toward fully licensed online sports betting. Horse racing betting is legal in Arizona and is regulated by the Division of Racing under the Arizona Department of Gaming. State law permits in-person wagering at racetracks and authorized off-track betting locations (OTBs). You can see a complete list of OTBs here. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. Upcoming football predictions and previous results: AZ Alkmaar, home odds 2.53, away odds 2.30, tie odds 3.60. Soccer betting tips calculated according to historical statistics and bet365 and 188bet opening betting odds. Check out our football betting tips and take inspiration for your next football bet. Or go to a date: Algorithm.
Arizona’s Gaming Landscape
A wrinkle in any bill to legalize sports betting in Arizona is a federally-required gaming compact with 16 tribal nations that own and operate tribal casinos in the state.
The Arizona Tribal-State Gaming Compact – now being renegotiated between Gov. Doug Ducey and each of the tribes – essentially dictates what new and expanded gaming can take place both on- and off-reservation in the state. That means Weninger’s bill, should it pass, cannot take effect until a new compact between the state and each tribal nation is approved by the federal government.
Sound complicated? A little bit. But don’t let it fool you. Gaming compacts between Arizona’s tribal nations and the state have been at work for nearly 30 years.
The Arizona Tribal-State Gaming Compact
The first of the compacts were signed in 1992. Today, there are 25 tribal casinos operating under gaming compacts renegotiated with the state in 2002 and 2003.
All tribal nations in Arizona have a gaming compact that grants them “exclusive rights” in gaming, including exclusive rights to run slots and casino-style games. A percentage of their gaming revenue goes to the state. And it’s pretty substantial.
In Fiscal Year 2020, the State of Arizona reaped $102 million from tribal gaming operations. This year also looks promising, with tribal gaming contributions to the state reaching $31.7 million in the second quarter of FY 2021.
Some tribes see growth potential in adding choice table games like Baccarat and craps to their offerings. Others would like a chance to add more casinos. But neither of these things can happen outside of a new compact. Neither can sports betting, which not all tribes have been quick to support.
Early Sports Betting Proposals
The Navajo Nation entered the Arizona Legislature’s sports-betting fray in 2019 after a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for the legalization of sportsbooks in states outside Nevada.
The proposal backed by the Navajo would have allowed off-reservation sports betting at tribal-controlled kiosks. Navajo officials saw the bill, in part, as a mechanism to offset lossesfrom the subsequent closure of two of its major employers.
But other tribes weren’t as keen on the proposal. At least two – the San Carlos Apache Nation and the Tohono O’odham Nation – said changes backed by the Navajo Nation should instead be dictated by tribal gaming compact.
Opposition to the bill eventually won out, yet sports-betting proponents didn’t give up. They regrouped in 2020 with another sports-gaming bill and high hopes for its passage. But that effort, like so many others last year, was derailed by the pandemic.
Next Steps
Weninger is optimistic that 2021 will be the year that sports betting comes to Arizona. Negotiations with Gov. Ducey have encouraged tribal nations to rally around the proposal, the lawmaker said. Pro sports teams are also on board.
Now, sports-betting proponents just need to get Weninger’s bill – or similar legislation filed by Arizona State Sen. T.J. Strope – through the full House and Senate and into the governor’s hands before the current legislative session ends in late April.
Conditional enactment of the legislation pending federal compact approval could clear the way for sportsbooks to open in Arizona by late this summer, says Weninger. Betting on baseball could be legal by August, he said, with wagering on NFL games open by September.
That should make betting in the Grand Canyon State a lot more interesting by the time Super Bowl LVI rolls around next year.
Arizona sports betting legislation appears to be coming to a head.
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The Arizona House voted to pass HB 2772, 48-12. The bill now heads to the Senate as the most likelyAZ sports bettinglegislation to make it all the way to Gov. Doug Ducey’s desk.
In February, the state’s Senate Appropriations Committee merged the chamber’s sports betting ambitions with SB1794, a bill poised to allow historic horse racing. It awaits a full chamber vote but remains an unlikely proposition.
A smooth Arizona sports betting journey?
As Arizona looks to tap into a sports betting market that could generate up to an estimated $42 million in taxes, the House has provided a cleaner route to legalization than the Senate.
The bill allows for 10 licenses tied to professional sports organizations and another 10 licenses to the state’s gaming tribes. The bill also legalizes daily fantasy sports.
The House bill received only scant opposition centered on data privacy in committees. Also among opponents were sports bars and restaurants who complained about missing out on potential revenue.
Arizona tribal support
The Arizona sports betting bills started as larger pieces necessary to enact a new gaming compact negotiated between Ducey and the tribes.
During hearings on the bills, questions were raised on how and if tribes support the broader AZ sports betting legalization. Several tribal leaders spoke in support of the bills throughout the process.
Explaining her “aye” vote, Rep. Jasmine Blackwater-Nygren reiterated the support tribes issued for HB 2772:
“They rely on gaming facilities and provide jobs and basic services,” Blackwater-Nygren said. “Tribes do not have the same access to the same tax base as towns and counties. This bill provides another way for tribes to raise gaming revenues.”
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The Senate route became contentious regarding tribal support as some suggested the historic horse racing practice violates a previous 2002 gaming agreement with tribes. The HHR bill passed 5-4 through the Appropriations Committee after the sports betting bill passed the Senate Commerce Committee,6-3.
Still two routes alive in Arizona
With the Senate bill potentially enacting a “poison pill” because of its HHR base, that route doesn’t seem likely.
The Senate could approve the bill stripped of the HHR provisions to regain tribal and broader political support.
With the House bill now on the way to the Senate, it still appears to be the cleanest option to legalize sports betting in Arizona this year.