The Grand Canyon State recently released its August sports betting metrics, and the results were encouraging. The handle increased by over 38% from a year ago, and mobile sports betting accounted for more than 95% of the handle.
August Bodes Well for Football Season
June and July are traditionally the slowest months on the sports betting calendar, as the Major League Baseball regular season is the only active of the four major North American professional sports leagues. August welcomes the NFL’s exhibition season, while early college football games also begin appearing on the schedule, and the slow tremor of activity builds before the seismic shock of the NFL regular season in September.
Arizona has yet to release September’s figures, but August’s data portends a robust market throughout this football season. The mobile sports betting handle was 473.84 million, while the state’s four retail shops accepted $22.23 million for a combined handle of $496.60 million in August, an impressive 38% increase over August 2023 and up 21.1% from July.
As for revenues, mobile sportsbooks generated $37.1 million while the brick-and-mortar locations delivered just $210,000 in profits for a combined $37.4 million in gross revenues. However, when $14.9 million worth of deductions are taken for promotions and free bets, August’s combined adjusted gross revenues plummet to $22.4 million, with the state collecting $2.2 million.
September’s numbers will be undeniably higher, and if we review last year’s first month of NFL football, we see that Arizona posted a handle of $610.7 million, generating $59.7 million in revenue. The chances are good that the bettors in the Grand Canyon State will top both of those figures when the numbers are released later this month.
DraftKings Lengthening Its Lead Over FanDuel
In August 2023, FanDuel and DraftKings both reported handles of $115 million. However, fast forward to August 2024, and we see DraftKings has made major strides in becoming the most popular sportsbook in Arizona, at least for August.
The Boston-based bookmaker reported a $170.2 million handle this August, a 47.4% year-over-year increase versus FanDuel’s August 2024 handle of $145.8 million. DraftKings experienced the largest year-over-year handle increase in the state, a whopping 47.4%, and outpaced FanDuel’s increased handle by 15.5% this August.
However, FanDuel’s superior hold of 6% versus DraftKings’ 4.8% revealed the former generated the highest adjusted gross revenues of $9.8 million compared to the latter’s $8.5 million in net profits.
BetMGM claimed the third spot with a handle of $56.8 million, while the iconic Caesars brand generated $28.1 million in accepted wagers. The European entry, bet365, climbed to the fifth position with a handle of $22.4 million after only seven months in the market.
It was only February 5th, 2024, six days before the Super Bowl, when bet365 announced its launch in Arizona, partnering with the Ak-Chin Indian Community to gain access to the market.
“Like bet365, the Arizona sporting scene is Never Ordinary and boasts several professional and college teams, earth-shaking fan-favorite moments, and exhilarating championship events,” said a bet365 spokesperson. “Just in time for the Big Game, sports fans in the Grand Canyon State can enjoy the bet365 experience featuring market-leading offerings like amazing Bet Boosts, the fastest In-Game product, and Same Game Parlays.”
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