Is sports betting legal in Arizona?

The law that opened it

Arizona calls it event wagering. It came in with House Bill 2772, which the Senate fact sheet on the enacted bill says the Governor signed on 15 April 2021 as Chapter 234. It is now Title 5, Chapter 11 of the Arizona Revised Statutes, and it could only take effect once the tribes with casinos around Phoenix and Pima County had signed the 2021 gaming compact amendment (section 5-1321).

The Arizona Department of Gaming runs it (section 5-1302). The structure is the interesting part. The department can issue up to 10 operator licenses to Arizona's pro sports teams, a PGA Tour venue and a NASCAR promoter, and up to 10 to tribes that signed the compact, and the tribal licenses are for mobile betting only. There are also limited licenses for single locations at racetracks and off-track sites. So the book on your phone is tied to a team, a track or a tribe, which is how the state kept the tribes on side.

A bet counts as placed in Arizona when you place it here and a licensed operator takes it (section 5-1303), so you have to be in the state when you bet, not just live here.

What a bettor here should know

The age is 21. A licensee may not let anyone younger place a wager (section 5-1311).

College games are on the board, but college props aren't. The law bans bets on individual actions or occurrences during a college game, such as how a player or team performs during it, while still allowing bets on the result and on season awards (section 5-1315). High school games are off the board entirely, according to the fact sheet. I think the college rule is a sensible one, because a prop on one college player is about the easiest kind of bet to tamper with.

The state also keeps a statewide self-exclusion list, and only you can put your own name on it (section 5-1320).

The department's own site wouldn't load for me when I checked, so the list of licensed books and the date the first bets were taken aren't on this page. I'd get the current list straight from the department before opening an account.

Winnings are fully taxable and belong on your federal return.

Where the offshore books fit

Offshore books take players from Arizona too, but none of them holds an Arizona license, so the department can't make them pay you or settle a dispute. A licensed book is one the state can hold to account. Our offshore sportsbooks section explains how those books work, and I'd read the VPN question before anyone tells you location rules are easy to get around.

If it stops being a game, call 1-800-GAMBLER, and see our responsible gambling page.

*Checked against the Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 5, Chapter 11 on 28 October 2026. Laws change; this page is re-checked every quarter. This is not legal advice.*