Connect with us

Betting

Legal Arizona Sports Betting Awaits Governor Ducey’s Signature

AZ legal sports betting bill in 2021

As of last Monday evening, a legal sports betting bill sits on the desk of Arizona Governor Doug Ducey following its passage of the state House and Senate.

Once the Governor signs AZ SB1797 into law, legal sports betting in Arizona will be available domestically via a variety of state-regulated sportsbook options.

Instead of cautiously wading into the waters of domestic sports betting in AZ, state lawmakers have included provisions in the language to allow for mobile sportsbook apps, online betting, and domestic venues.

Another added bonus is the potential for sportsbooks to exist on the premises of a professional sports stadium or arena. That means that legally betting on sports in Pheonix will be possible while attending a Suns game, or during the seventh-inning stretch of a Diamondbacks game at Chase Field.

These in-stadium sportsbook operations will be luxurious betting lounges complete with a plethora of televisions and plush seating to enjoy the action.

Regional professional teams will also be able to offer betting applications that will work while inside of the stadium, and the options aren’t just limited to the point-spread, money line odds, and the over/under.

There’ll be options for Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) which allows for the selection of individual players across several professional teams for competition against a field of other participants.

Each professional sports franchise will also have the option of creating in-game real money applications that can cover any aspect of the game, including which team will score first, final score predictions, and more.

Stadiums have already been in talks with domestic sportsbook vendors in anticipation of the passage of legal betting on sports in AZ. Announcements are forthcoming, and the doors to these state-regulated sportsbooks could open sooner than later.

With a little bit of luck and a favorable bounce of the ball in regards to regulatory hurdles, betting on sports in the Grand Canyon State has the potential to launch by the beginning of the 2021 NFL Season this September.

Arizona’s existing casinos will not be cut out of the action, as they’ll also be allowed to construct in-person sportsbooks inside of their facilities should this bill receive the Governor’s timely signature.

Another popular option that has appeared in the language of other state’s sports betting laws is an allowance for kiosks that can take wagers from regional gamblers in non-traditional businesses like racetracks and fraternal clubs (the Elks Lodge, Loyal Order of the Moose, etc.).

One odd part of this new law is that all betting on NCAA sports is strictly prohibited. Many states have opted out of the inclusion of betting on local college teams, but Arizona’s ban will certainly cause regional fans to seek other alternatives.

If bettors in Arizona are not able to find the game lines that they are interested in laying some action on, they will still have the option of traveling to a nearby sportsbook-friendly state, or doing business with an offshore sports betting site like the ones featured on this site

Another demographic that Arizona is missing out on is sports bettors that are under 21 years of age. Once again, offshore sportsbook sites will be able to take care of 18 to 20-year-old gamblers in AZ that want to wager on college sports, and there are no laws in place to stop them.

Source: FOX 10 Phoenix

More in Betting