Arizona Sports Betting Handle Tops $600 Million for Sixth Straight Month in February

Arizona's legal sports betting industry had another strong month in February, stretching its streak of $600 million monthly handles to six as our best sports betting sites flourished again in the Grand Canyon State.

According to the Arizona Department of Gaming report, despite reporting its lowest monthly handle since September, sports wagering activity in the Arizona sports betting scene was up year-over-year from February 2023, when the Super Bowl was held in Phoenix.

With Arizona's February numbers added in, the nation's sports betting handle surpassed the $11 billion for a single month. It is the first time that the national scene has hit that milestone mark.

Revenues for Arizona sports betting apps and the state's retail providers were mixed in February. They showed substantial improvement year over year but were down month over month.

$637.5 million handle

Arizona's best sportsbooks took in $637.5 million in wagers in February. While this was about $70 million, or about a 9.8% drop from the $706.4 million in January, overall sports betting activity was up 4.6% from the nearly $609.3 million in February 2023. Residents undoubtedly took advantage of Arizona sportsbook promos.

February 2024's haul represents the sixth-highest monthly handle ever in the Grand Canyon State's 30 months of legalization, and, as mentioned, it stretched the streak of $600 million handles to six, with March likely to make it seven.

Arizona sports betting sites made up $631.2 million of the total $637.5 million in February handle. Retail made up $4.6 million of the handle, while limited event wagering operators contributed $1.6 million.

With a couple of states yet to report their February numbers, the national handle is almost unfathomable just over $11 billion for February; $11.3 billion in known legal sports betting wagers nationwide has been reported, which is not only a record, but a 25.7% year-over-year spike from February of 2023.

$54.3 million in gross revenue

For February, gross revenue for Arizona's best sportsbooks came in at $54.3 million. That number represents a month-over-month 23.5% decrease from the record $70.9 million in profits reported in January but is an impressive 53.4% year-over-year spike from $35.4 million in February 2023.

The year-over-year spike was due to an 8.5% hold rate for Arizona sportsbooks in February, which is about 2.7 percentage points higher than the same month in 2023.

Adjusted taxable revenues for Arizona sports betting providers were $28 million in February, allowing the state to collect $2.8 million in taxes from its providers. Through the first two months of 2024, adjusted gross revenue for Arizona operators stands at $74.1 million, an impressive 64.3% improvement from last year.

Year-to-date, tax contributions from state providers are up around $2.9 million from last year.

FanDuel tops in Arizona market 

As has become customary, FanDuel was the most popular Arizona sports betting app in February. FanDuel Arizona made up $230.3 million of the state's overall handle and made $20.2 million in revenues off of an 8.8% hold. It was the third straight month that FanDuel surpassed $20 million in monthly revenues in the Grand Canyon State.

DraftKings Arizona was a familiar second in the Arizona sports betting market in February with $206.2 million in accepted bets and $19.2 million in revenues. BetMGM Arizona claimed the final podium spot with $73.3 million in accepted February wagers and $5.9 million in revenue.

Caesars Sportsbook Arizona was fourth, with $43.6 million in wagers and $1.5 million in revenues from an underwhelming 3.5% win rate. ESPN BET was fifth with $26.6 million in bets and $2 million in gross revenue. After claiming some adjusted gross revenue, it paid taxes for the first time in the Arizona market.

bet365 Arizona made a little noise in Arizona thanks to typically aggressive promotional spending following the launch of its sports betting product in the Grand Canyon State. It saw $24.5 million in accepted wagers and $3.4 million in revenues from a very good 14.4% hold rate.