Fanatics Sportsbook has taken its online and mobile sports betting offerings live in Arizona.
The sportsbook launched in the Grand Canyon State on April 4 through its long-term partnership with the Tonto Apache Tribe, owner and operator of the Mazatzal Hotel & Casino. The Arizona Department of Gaming awarded Fanatics a license last month in partnership with the tribe.
Arizona was a marketplace in which PointsBet, which Fanatics acquired last year in a $225 million deal, had not been live with online sports betting.
Sports fans in Arizona can now download the Fanatics Sportsbook on iOS and Android and begin playing. In addition, the partnership includes plans to open a Fanatics Sportsbook retail location inside the Mazatzal Hotel & Casino this summer.
Tonto Apache Chairman Calvin Johnson said that the deal with Fanatics will not only allow the tribe to provide for the general welfare of its members but also benefit all Arizona citizens. The tribe had previously offered mobile sports betting via Churchill Downs‘ sports betting platform TwinSpires, which closed its operations at the end of 2023.
“We are thrilled to partner with the Tonto Apache Tribe and Mazatzal Hotel & Casino to bring the Fanatics Sportsbook to Arizona,” added Ari Borod, Chief Business Officer, Fanatics Betting & Gaming. “Arizona is a state with tons of options for sports fans, from baseball to hockey to golf to football to racing, making it the ideal destination for the most rewarding online sportsbook.”
Since launching in September 2021, Arizona has more than $15 billion in all-time sports betting handle through January of this year, the eighth-highest total of all states post-PASPA. It is one of 11 states to surpass $1 billion in gross operator sports betting revenue.
Arizona now has 10 sportsbook licensees tethered to tribal partners, the maximum it can offer in that category.
Fanatics joins bet365 in Grand Canyon State amid continued expansion
Fanatics Sportsbook is the second mobile operator to launch sports betting in Arizona in the last two months.
On February 5, British sportsbook bet365 expanded its U.S. presence by launching in Arizona betting operator is continuing to expand its reach across America in partnership with the Ak-Chin Indian Community.
Fanatics and bet365 have joined the likes of Bally’s, BetMGM, ESPN Bet, Caesars, Betfred and others in the state’s market. More could be coming, too. The state allows up to 20 event wagering licenses with 10 allocated toward tribes and the remaining 10 toward sports franchises. bet365 and Fanatics are the 17th and 18th licensees, respectively.
Fanatics Sportsbook has also gone live in North Carolina and in Kansas in recent weeks and is closing in on a launch in Illinois. PointsBet has received the final installment of the agreed $225 million fee and has transferred the remaining entities to Fanatics. By the end of this month, pending regulatory approval, the expectation is that Fanatics Betting and Gaming will be live in 20 states including Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
