AZ Sports Betting Best Arizona sports betting sites 2021

Sports betting might have a long and storied history in the United States, but its been categorized as a nefarious and illegal black market for the majority of that time. Over time, though, the public and legal perspectives on sports betting have slowly shifted towards acceptance. As with many other states, Arizona has joined the ranks of states that allow online sports betting.

It wasnt an easy road to legalization, though. After many years of debate and a few legal setbacks, September 2021 marked the first time in Arizona history that residents could legally sign up for AZ sports betting sites. Lets look at how we got here and explore the many ups and downs that happened along the way.

If youve been following online sports betting, youve probably noticed that a lot of states have legalized online sports betting over the past two or three years. While it may seem like a coincidence that these states decided to shift their policies simultaneously, it all started at the federal level.

In 1992, the United States legislature effectively banned online sports betting when they passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. Although the act laid out provisions for online bookies to operate in a few states, the overwhelming majority of the country was barred from allowing sports betting within their territories.

This all changed in 2018 when New Jersey attempted to work around the law, thus throwing it into the public eye. Their challenge rose to the Supreme Court, which ruled that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act prevented state legislatures from mandating their betting regulations.

After overturning the law, states were given the green light to draft their own legislation, effectively opening the door for Arizona to legalize online sports betting.

Although the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act had been overturned in 2018, it wasnt until 2019 that the Arizona legislature began debating whether to legalize AZ sports betting sites. At first, the proposition to legalize online sports betting in Arizona faced a lot of opposition from tribes throughout the state.

Local tribes feared that legalizing online sports betting would create competition against their own gambling operations. However, this all began to change in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic destroyed local tourist revenues. Because there were not enough travelers coming to Arizona, tribes and the state legislature realized that legalizing AZ sports betting sites could create a new revenue stream and keep their economies afloat.

Even still, the movement towards legalizing online sports betting was a slow and grinding process from one committee to another. Once a bill finally reached the state Senate, it seemed as if Arizona congressmen were prepared to legalize AZ sports betting when things suddenly came to a halt over a minor typo.

Initially, legislators planned to provide every professional sports team in Arizona with either their own mobile betting platform or an online betting license. This also included the PGA Golf Tours Scottsdale venue and the Phoenix Raceway, where NASCAR hosts biannual races. However, the bill originally allowed collector car auctions with 150 or more attendants to also apply for betting licenses.

This would mean that any bar or venue in the state could host a collector car auction and apply for a betting license. This wasnt legislators intention, though, so they quickly adjusted the number, realizing that theyd meant to type 150,000 attendants. Unfortunately, that single typo caused a delay and sent shudders through the local tribal communities who already felt that they would lose customers.

The constant push and pull between tribal leaders and non-tribal senators kept the bill at an impasse for more than a few weeks. One senator proposed expanding the reach of all gambling regulations, which caused many tribal leaders to oppose the legislation. However, tribal senators knew that if they compromised just a little bit, they could also expand their markets.

By the end of the debates, both the Governor and the tribal leaders reached an agreement and were able to draft legislation that suited both of their interests. After months of back-and-forth, Governor Doug Ducey finally signed House Bill 2772 on April 15, 2021, thus legalizing registered AZ sports betting sites.

More here:

AZ Sports Betting Best Arizona sports betting sites 2021