Dept. of Gaming shares huge betting totals, notes it’s, uh, Problem Gambling Awareness Month

Arizona, we may have a gambling problem.

March 12, 2025

Image: a man puts his head in his hands while looking at a computer screen

Arizonans wagered $849 million on sports in December. Nes/Getty Stock Image

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Arizonans love to bet on sports! Also — [puts on concerned face] — March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month.

That tonal whiplash was featured in an Arizona Department of Gaming press release issued Tuesday.

In one breath, the department shared the latest sports betting figures. In December 2024, Arizona sports bettors wagered a whopping $849 million, a 23% increase from the year prior. That’s not quite a record, but it’s close — the month before, bettors wagered a record-breaking $897 million. For all of 2024, almost $8 billion was wagered in Arizona.

In the next breath, the department offered a public service announcement. Tuesday was Gambling Disorder Screening Day, and March is the month for problem gambling awareness. The release quoted Gov. Katie Hobbs as saying that “problem gambling is a serious issue that impacts thousands of Arizonans.

In 2024, the Department of Gaming connected almost 1,000 people with problem gambling treatment. Its Division of Problem Gambling also has a free confidential helpline — 1-800-NEXT-STEP or 1-800-639-8783 — and online resources to help people with their gambling problems.

“We want every Arizonan to know — they are not alone,” added Elise Mikkelsen, Director of the Division of Problem Gambling.

Yeah, we know! We’ve seen the numbers!

Online sports gambling has been legal in Arizona in late 2021, when former Gov. Doug Ducey signed a law opening the state to sports books. In 2022, almost $6 billion was wagered in Arizona, according to Department of Gaming data. Since then, the amount of money wagered through sports betting has increased by 34%.

And almost all — more than 99% — of this wagering is done on mobile apps such as FanDuel, BetMGM and DraftKings. FanDuel seems to be Arizonans’ favorite sports betting app, with $275 million spent on the app alone in December 2024.

Arizonans don’t seem to be that great at it, though. Sportsbooks paid out $798 million to bettors in December, roughly $50 million less than they wagered. They say the house always wins, and that was true for every month of 2024 — not once did bettors win more than they wagered.

Despite the huge numbers, Arizona taxpayers don’t actually see much benefit from sports betting. Sportsbooks pay an 8% tax on in-person bets and a 10% tax on mobile bets, but because of carve-outs for “free” bets that sportsbooks offer as a marketing tactic, Arizona netted only $2.6 million in “privilege fees” in December.

Morgan Fischer joined Phoenix New Times as a staff writer in July 2024, covering all things Phoenix and Arizona news. Before joining New Times, Morgan has worked as a national politics intern at The Arizona Republic and as a reporter for News21, among other positions. She holds degrees in journalism and mass communication and political science from Arizona State University, where she also attended Barrett, The Honors College.

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