December sports wagering in Arizona generates a record-breaking $572 million handle
Arizona Reports Record-Breaking Sports Wagering Handle for December
The Arizona Department of Gaming disclosed on Friday a sports wagering handle of $572.5 million for the month of December, pushing the state's total for the year over $6 billion. This remarkable figure marked the second consecutive month setting a national handle record to wrap up 2022.
Although the handle dropped by 7.3% compared to November's record-breaking figure of $616.9 million, it represented the fourth-highest monthly total in the 16 months of wagering in Arizona and the fourth consecutive month operators accepted over half a billion dollars in wagers. Since the launch of sports betting in September 2021, Arizona has amassed almost $7.8 billion in handle.
Gross revenue exceeded $54.4 million after accounting for operator losses and federal excise taxes, resulting in a hold of 9.5%. The final payout was within $450,000 of the all-time high of $56 million set in November, and the state was eligible to levy taxes on $37.3 million of the total. The 8% levy on retail revenue and 10% tax on adjusted gross revenue generated an inflow of $3.7 million to state coffers.
Sports wagering generated $28.9 million in tax receipts in the first full year of operation in Arizona, while operators reported $473.1 million in revenue before losses and federal excise tax.
Nationally, the monthly handle at the close of 2022 slightly surpassed $10.06 billion, topping November's total by nearly $45 million. Arizona's record is likely to be short-lived, as current handle for January, boosted primarily by the launch of sports wagering in Ohio and one day of retail betting in Massachusetts, is more than $9.8 billion. Illinois and Arizona are yet to report their numbers.
In terms of operator performance in Arizona, DraftKings led in handle among mobile operators, finishing less than $53 million shy of a $2 billion handle for the year. However, it was FanDuel that claimed the title of undisputed revenue champ, with December's gross revenue landing at 11.7% and the sportsbook posting a total of $180.4 million for the year.
BetMGM took the second spot in terms of revenue, with a hold of 10% or higher for each of the last six months. It edged out FanDuel for the highest hold among top-tier operators for the calendar year at 10.1%, .04 percentage points better than its leading rival. BetMGM's $11.6 million in gross revenue for December was an all-time high and pushed its final number over $108.3 million, nearly $3.2 million better than DraftKings.
BetMGM aggressively pursued business throughout the year, topping all operators in promotional spend at a staggering $62.1 million. This resulted in an adjusted gross revenue that accounted for 42.5% of its gross revenue, compared to 71.1% for FanDuel and 60.1% for DraftKings.
Caesars, Barstool Sportsbook, and WynnBET also achieved nine-figure handle totals for 2022, with Caesars finishing comfortably fourth. The aggregate revenue for these operators, as well as other details about the sports betting market in Arizona, were not specified in the provided data.
Overall, legal commercial market handle in the United States reached $93.8 billion in 2022, up 62.4% compared to 2021's total of $57.8 billion. December set an all-time monthly record for handle, with operators grossing $955.7 million in revenue and claiming close to $798.6 million in adjusted revenue. This marked a 74% increase in gross revenue and an 80.7% increase in adjusted revenue compared to 2021, primarily due to New York's 51% tax on mobile revenue with no deductions for promotional credit. The Empire State alone accounted for $690 million of the total tax revenue, approximately 46% of the overall total.
In Arizona, December's sports wagering handle of $572.5 million was the fourth-highest monthly total since the launch of sports-betting in September 2021, and it represented a payout of over half a billion dollars for operators. Despite a decrease compared to November's record, the handle for the year surpassed $6 billion, setting a newrecord for the state.
