sports wagering, further solidifying itself as one of the nation’s top markets after the state’s Department of Gaming on Friday reported handle totaling $358.9 million for August.
The Grand Canyon State has accepted $11.7 billion worth of wagers since accepting its first bets in September 2021, trailing only Illinois for the highest handle in the mobile betting market — something not all states had at the time of their respective launches.
The following table compares states’ handles in their first two years after launch.
| State | Handle | First Wagers Accepted |
|---|---|---|
| Illinois | $12,262,163,797 | March 2020 |
| ARIZONA | $11,688,072,321 | September 2021 |
| Nevada | $9,717,277,841 | June 2018 |
| Virginia | $8,136,745,865 | January 2021 |
| New Jersey | $7,219,456,031 | June 2018 |
| Colorado | $6,945,433,142 | May 2020 |
| Michigan | $6,575,617,449 | March 2020 |
| Tennessee | $6,013,135,483 | November 2020 |
| Indiana | $4,290,786,069 | September 2019 |
| Pennsylvania | $4,048,118,489 | November 2018 |
The handle for August was the fifth-lowest in state history and down 0.6% compared to the same month last year. Gross revenue totaled $31.7 million, two percentage points less than July.
After counting deductions and promotional credits, the state was able to levy taxes on $21.4 million in adjusted gross revenue, resulting in a tax inflow of more than $2.1 million to the state. The $3.9 billion handle in the 2023 calendar year is up 5.9% versus the first eight months of 2023, but gross revenue is up 28.6% in that same span to $330.4 million, as the nearly 8.5% win rate is almost 1.5 percentage points better than 2022.
Across the board growth 682c6e
FINAL August Top 10 #SportsBetting handles by state:
1 New York $1.12B
2 New Jersey $725.8M
3 Illinois $676.1M
4 Nevada $431M
5 Pennsylvania $393M
6 Ohio $379.5M
7 ARIZONA $358.9M
8 Virginia $319M
9 Massachusetts $314.9M
10 Maryland $263.7M#GamblingTwitter— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) October 13, 2023
Arizona’s second year of sports wagering was aided by the novelty of hosting legal wagering in February, but the overall picture showed solid growth from Year 1 to Year 2. Handle the last 12 months of betting was up 15.1% to $6.25 billion, while gross revenue climbed 32.1% higher to $546.6 million.
| Time Period | Handle | Gross Revenue | Hold | State Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep. 2021-Aug. 2022 | $5,434,212,182 | $413,746,903 | 7.61% | $21,246,821 |
| Sep. 2022-Aug. 2023 | $6,253,860,139 | $546,582,076 | 8.74% | $35,038,662 |
| TOTALS | $11,688,072,321 | $960,328,979 | 8.22% | $56,285,483 |
The state was also able to levy taxes on a higher percentage of revenue over the past 12 months, with the $351.2 million in adjusted gross revenue representing 64.3% of total gross revenue. The percentage for the first 12 months was barely over 50%, and Arizona has collected close to $13.8 million more in taxes –$35 million from September 2022 through August — versus Year 1.
FanDuel inching close to 10% hold 646726
Running 2023 YTD Top 10 #SportsBetting handles by state (thru Sept in CAPS)
1 NEW YORK $13B
2 Illinois $6.69B
3 New Jersey $6.47B
4 Nevada $4.87B
5 Ohio $4.54B
6 Pennsylvania $4.27B
7 Arizona $3.91B
8 Virginia $3.23B
9 Colorado $3.17B
10 MARYLAND $3.02B#GamblingTwitter— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) October 13, 2023
Arizona is one of the few states where handle and revenue numbers by mobile operator are available in which FanDuel is not maintaining a 10% hold in the 2023 calendar year. It is not from lack of effort, but the three months FanDuel has fallen short of that mark has seen it fail to reach 9%.
August was closer to normal for the online juggernaut as it crafted a 10.9% win rate on $115.1 million handle, claiming $12.5 million in gross revenue. That nudged FanDuel’s year-to-date hold to 9.9%, with $140.5 million in revenue on $1.42 billion worth of wagers.
DraftKings edged out FanDuel for the top handle spot by less than $500,000, but its more pedestrian 8.4% hold resulted in gross revenue totaling $9.7 million. That is roughly in line with its overall 2023 hold of 8.3%, having won $92.1 million from bettors who have generated $1.11 billion handle.
BetMGM actually has more double-digit holds than FanDuel in Arizona this year, cracking 10% for the sixth time after fashioning a 10.1% win rate to keep $5.1 million of the $50.5 million wagered. Though BetMGM has slowed its promotional spend compared to last year, there was a notable uptick from July as credits sured $2.3 million. BetMGM’s $113.6 million total outlay in Arizona since launch is the most of any mobile book.
Caesars Sports rounded out the “Big 4” in unspectacular fashion, posting a 7.1% hold to claim $2.4 million in revenue from $33.6 million worth of wagers. Tucson-based Desert Diamond wrested back the No. 5 spot for handle from Barstool Sports with more than $15.3 million handle, but bettors limited the local outfit to a sub-1% hold and less than $142,000.
PENN Entertainment’s Barstool, whose handle nearly reached $11 million, had a 5.2% hold to claim more than $567,000 in gross winnings. BetRivers was the lone mobile book to post a loss on gross revenue in August, paying out more than $61,000 on top of the $3.8 million worth of accepted bets. It was the second losing month overall for BetRivers, which finished close to $70,000 in the red in December.
