The Arizona Department of Gaming reported $42.5 million in gross sports betting revenue in July before any deductions were taken, completing a sizzling summer month across the country for sportsbooks.
Revenue in the Grand Canyon State was up 20.3% from last July, lagging behind the 26.9% rise in handle to $410.1 million. Arizona did outperform neighboring Nevada in handle for the third time in four months, with $34.2 million separating them in July.
Month-over-month wagering dipped 9.7% to start the second half of 2024, with gross winnings down 10.1%. The $29 million in taxable revenue, which provided $2.9 million in receipts for the state, was up 8.1% from July 2023 and down 8.3% from June.
Total known national handle for the month, which excludes Florida and Nebraska, was $7.93 billion. That was a year-over-year increase of 34.4%, which amounts to just over $2 billion. It was the second straight July sportsbooks in the U.S. combined for a double-digit hold, with the known win rate to be 11.1% against $7.66 billion worth of wagers.
Tennessee's handle and Nebraska's revenue are subtracted from overall figures to derive a national win rate. The Sports Wagering Council in Tennessee does not collect revenue data since the state levies taxes on 1.85% of the handle, and the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission does not require casinos with sportsbook licenses to report handle in the retail wagering-only state.
The 11.1% win rate was the third in double digits in the calendar year, an unprecedented accomplishment by operators in the post-PASPA era, which started back in June 2018 when the first wagers were accepted. It was the highest hold on gross revenue since sportsbooks attained an 11.3% hold in May 2023 and the fourth-highest overall in 74 months of commercial wagering with complete data sets.
There was $183.2 million in state taxes from sports betting in July, an increase of $56.1 million from 12 months prior. Adjusted gross revenue totaled just shy of $786 million, with $292.2 million — 37.2% — coming from New York, New Jersey, and Illinois.
DraftKings as Hot as the Arizona Desert
FINAL July Top 10 #SportsBetting handles by state:
1 New York $1.27B
2 Illinois $773.7M
3 New Jersey $652.3M
4 Ohio $477.5M
5 Penn. $414.7M
6 Mass. $411.8M
7 ARIZONA $410.1M <-NEW
8 Virginia $377.6M
9 Nevada $375.9M
10 North Carolina $340.4M#SportsBettingX#GamblingX— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) October 15, 2024
In the never-ending struggle between DraftKings and FanDuel, promotional spend by the two superpowers often looms large. The outlay of credits and bonuses helps boost handle, which in turn has the potential to boost revenue based on the types of wagers. It also encourages bettor loyalty, something DraftKings looked to have attained in July based on the figures.
It led all mobile operators with $16.5 million in gross revenue and $146.4 million handle, with its 11.3% hold barely higher than FanDuel's 11.2%. But DraftKings had notably less promotional spend in July at nearly $2.8 million compared to the $4.5 million for FanDuel.
Handle increased 43% year-over-year for DraftKings, with revenue outpacing that gain at 57%, with this year's hold one percentage point higher. It also wound up with $13.4 million in AGR, an increase of 63% from 12 months ago, as the lighter promotional spend led to more money in its pocket.
FanDuel still performed at its usual levels, reaping $14.1 million in gross winnings from $125.8 million worth of wagers in notching a double-digit hold for the fourth straight month. FanDuel also still has an edge in year-to-date gross revenue over its eternal rival at $164.2 million, separating the pair by $32 million. Lastly, FanDuel's modest July — revenue was up 2% as its win rate was nearly one percentage point lower — was still enough to push it over $600 million in all-time winnings in Arizona.
BetMGM remained a comfortable third in both categories, collecting $4.2 million from $47.7 million handle. It continued to aggressively court business with an outlay of $1.9 million in credits and bonuses, lifting its total for 2024 to $18.9 million. Revenue was down 30.2% from last July, with BetMGM's 8.8% win rate of more than five percentage points.
A pair of still relative newcomers to the Arizona mobile market — bet365 and Fanatics Sportsbook — are challenging to round out the top five behind Caesars. Bet365 created a quintet of sportsbooks with at least $20 million in handle, while Fanatics has quickly separated itself from ESPN BET with an aggressive promotional spend in its first few months on the ground.
Bet365 posted a 9.8% hold in claiming almost $2 million in gross revenue, and it again had a month-over-month decline in promotional spending at $863,100. The England-based sportsbook has pumped $9.3 million in credits and bonuses to bettors, which amounts to almost 6.3% of its $148.6 million handle to date.
Fanatics, meanwhile, has topped $15 million handle all four months of operations in the Grand Canyon State after accepting $16.1 million in wagers in July. Its promo spend remained level from June at close to $1.4 million, and Fanatics has offered at least $5.5 million in credits and bonuses — the Department of Gaming does not provide a full figure if an operator has $0 AGR — which comes to 9% of its $65.3 million handle thus far.
While ESPN BET was one of six mobile operators with a double-digit hold in July, the 10.2% rate on $9.3 million handle left it $52,000 shy of $1 million. ESPN BET again lessened its promotional spend from the previous month; the $272,600 reported is the lowest since its nationwide rollout last November. The PENN Entertainment-owned sportsbook has offered $6.4 million in goodies to bettors this year, nearly matching its $6.7 million combined outlay last November and December.
The State and Sportsbooks Posting Year-over-Year Gains
Operator gross revenue growth is notably outpacing gains in handle through the first seven months of the year in Arizona. Sportsbooks have totaled $401.7 million in winnings, up 34.5%, while the $4.19 billion in accepted wagers represents an 18.1% increase. The 9.6% hold thus far is almost 1.2 percentage points higher than last year.
The state has collected $25.9 million in taxes, up $6.6 million from the same period last year. Adjusted gross revenue has been nearly 65% of gross winnings this year, slightly better than the 62.7% mark in 2023 and the 60% ratio since its launch in September 2021.
