Fantasy sports betting is soon becoming legal in Arizona. Approved operators can go live as early as 12:01 a.m. Saturday.
“You can sign up for free and then you can just go ahead and start looking at games, looking at lineups, seeing how you want to play. There's different options, whether it's picking players from a specific game or picking players that have games in a certain time slot,” says C.J. Pierre, lead writer, PlayAZ.com
There are six licensed fantasy sports operators, including DraftKings, which is partnered with TPC Scottsdale, and FanDuel is partnered with the Phoenix Suns.
“So , when you're watching a sporting event, it's not just… ‘Hey, I want my team to win. Oh hey, I need, you know, this particular player to score 20 points or I need this quarterback to throw five touchdowns.’ Then on the receiving end of that, if he does that, you can win some money,” says Pierre.
As for sports betting on actual games, that doesn't officially launch until September 9. The Arizona Department of Gaming allocated licenses to eight sports teams/organizations, on top of 10 tribal licenses. The Navajo Nation secured one of those.
"We have an opportunity to be very authentic and true to our roots and our heritage and our culture with how we present things,” says Brian Parrish, Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise CEO.
They have partnered with Seminole Hard Rock Digital as the platform provider, working to create a special mobile event wagering platform, which is near completion. It will be used to cross-market the tribes and boost tourism. They will also be putting a sportsbook inside their casino properties, as well as kiosks.
Not everyone who applied for a license was approved. Turf Paradise filed a lawsuit, challenging the Department of Gaming's determination that it did not qualify.
“That doesn't mean that they can't be licensed in the future. We don't know what the future holds but right now, it's only the 18 that got licensed,” says Pierre.
