By Ryan Randazzo | Arizona Republic
(Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents PGA Tour)
Arizona’s professional sports teams and tribal casinos will pay $750,000 to apply and get a sportsbook license from the state and another $150,000 annually to hang on to it under new draft rules the Department of Gaming posted Thursday evening.
That cost is a fraction of what will come in return: Sports betting is estimated to draw $3 billion in wagers and about $200 million in annual revenue to sportsbooks once it kicks off in the state.
Lawmakers approved a sweeping sports-betting bill this year that should allow the first wagers placed in the state by Sept. 9 for the opening of the professional football season. The legislation also paved the way for expansions at the state’s tribal casinos, including new table games not previously allowed.
The Department of Gaming is writing the rules for the new sportsbooks and fantasy sports betting allowed under the bill, and filled in important financial details in the latest draft. It will cost $100,000 to apply for a license and, if approved, that money can be credited toward the $750,000 initial license fee.
The sportsbooks also will pay 8% of their revenues in fees to the state from the brick-and-mortar venues that are planned in or near sports stadiums, and they will pay 10% of revenues from mobile betting, according to the latest draft rules.
