An up-or-down vote on the fate of Arizona’s online sports betting plan and daily fantasy sports is set for Monday, April 12, after the State Senate moved the two bills forward.
State Sen. T.J. Shope’s (R-Coolidge) sponsored bill, SB 1797, will face an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor. If approved, the bill will allow for in-person and Arizona online sports betting and the legalization of daily fantasy sports wagering. Arizona is currently one of six states in the country without legalized daily fantasy sports wagering.
“We should be voting on my SB1797 on Monday on the Senate Floor. If my vote calculations are correct, it will receive a positive vote and likely even a two-thirds majority and be sent to the Governor for signature,” Shope told Action Rush.
Shope helped push the bill forward with the help of Phoenix Coyote’s great Shane Doan, who attended a State Senate session on April 7.
I’d like to thank “Captain Coyote”, Shane Doan, for stopping by the State Senate yesterday to give me a hand in moving SB1797/HB2772 (Fantasy Sports Betting; Event Wagering) forward to an up-or-down vote! Stay tuned because there’s big news to come on this front! pic.twitter.com/trunIt69WX
— T.J. Shope (@TJShopeforAZ) April 8, 2021
The Proposed Arizona Sports Betting Plan
If approved, the Arizona online sports betting plan would allow for event wagering and wagering on daily fantasy sports. A maximum of 10 licenses tied to professional sports team could be issued, with an additional 10 licenses available for Indian Tribes in the state who have signed the most recent tribal-state gaming compact. The bill would allow Arizona’s professional sport franchises to run sportsbook at their facilities.
An 8% tax rate would be set on fantasy sports revenue, with license holders paying an annual fee of $10,000. The bill also calls for a minimum 8% tax rate on sports betting revenue.
The bill was stripped of a controversial Historic Horse Racing bill that would have potentially invalidated a 2002 gaming agreement with state Indian Tribes and had held up the bill’s potential approval. Shope said the controversial measure was stripped from his bill and will need an amendment to mirror House Bill 2772.
1797 was held in Appropriations and now released. In essence, it’s the clean Bill without HHR and will need an amendment to mirror the House version on Monday.
— T.J. Shope (@TJShopeforAZ) April 8, 2021
Governor Has Shown Interest In An Arizona Sports Betting Plan
Gov. Doug Ducey has been bullish on the potential of an Arizona sports betting plan to increase state and Tribal revenues. According to the AP, Ducey touted sports betting and daily fantasy sports wagering as a positive revenue stream in his January “state of the state” address.
Sports betting, he said in the address, presents “an opportunity for a modernized gaming compact that will bring in more revenue for our tribal nations and our state budget.”
If the bill is approved, it is conceivable that an Arizona online sports betting plan could be worked on in the future.
