The latest revenue reports are in for December, with operators showcasing a total of $572 million in Arizona betting handle for the month. The amount was a nice 14.7% increase from December 2021, with the month reaching the fourth-highest total for the state since betting services first launched. Jackie Johnson, director of the Arizona Department of Gaming, commented that the month was another strong one for the industry. Over $73 million was wagered when compared to the same time the previous year.
Inside Look at the December Arizona Betting Handle and Revenues
The December betting handle fared well overall, but the total was down when compared to November 2022. That month, the operators in the state generated over $616 million in bets. December was the fourth consecutive month that over half a billion dollars was seen in wagers.
Gross revenues came in at $54.4 million after losses and excise taxes, which resulted in a 9.5% hold. After payouts, the state brought in over $55 million which was close to the November all-time high of $56 million.
The state was able to tax just over $37 million with 8% on retail earnings and 10% on adjusted gross earnings. This brought $3.7 million to the state. Tax receipts came in at $28.9 million for the first full year of betting in the state and operators were able to see just over $473 million in earnings before taxes and losses.
Individual Operator Breakdown for Arizona Betting Handle
For the month, it was FanDuel that earned the most when it comes to mobile bets as well as Arizona retail services. The brand saw just over $3.3 million in retail bets with over $182 million in mobile wagers. DraftKings took the second place spot with mobile wagering, reaching $171 million.
BetMGM was second in retail betting and third in online wagers, with $942,000 and $94 million respectively. Caesars would take the fourth spot in online bets and third in retail with $64 million online and $732,000+ in person.
Rounding out the online list is Penn Sports with its Barstool Sports generating over $20 million bets followed by WynnBET with $6.1 million. Almost tied were Seminole Hard Rock Digital and Desert Diamond Mobile with over $5.4 million bets. Other operators barely hit the $1 million mark or were way under.
As far as earnings are concerned, the top operator in land-based gaming was BetMGM with $110,000 while FanDuel brought in just over $57,600. Caesars came in fourth place with $39,592.80. when it comes to online earnings, FanDuel was top again with just over $15.4 million. DraftKings was a distant second for the month, generating just over $9.5 million.
Following far behind is BetMGM and Caesars, earning $4.9 million and $4.2 million respectively. Desert Diamond and Golden Nugget brought in over $1 million in earnings while the remaining operators were far below that mark after losses and payments.
Looking Ahead to 2023
Arizona is one state that delivers its revenue and wager reports very late, especially compared to other states like New Jersey. In most cases, we can see reports within two weeks of the following month. Now that we have finally gotten through 2022, it will be interesting to see how the next few months fare.
Will operators see even more success in this New Year? The next few issued reports will include details from months that include Super Bowl betting plus the upcoming March Madness. It will certainly be interesting to see how the state stacks up against the previous year and if major growth has occurred.
