Arizona Coyotes Push for AZ Sports Betting Law Change Ahead of Move to ASU Arena

Written By Play AZ Editorial Team on April 6, 2022Last Updated on January 30, 2025

The Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League are asking the Arizona government to change a recently enacted law regarding sports betting in Arizona.

The Coyote & rsquo’s request concerns their ability to run Arizona sports betting services while hosting home games at Arizona State University( ASU ).

Native American tribes in Arizona and the Rsquo are rebuffing the Coyotes’ propositions. Any modifications to a law that went into effect just last year are opposed by the Arizona Indian Gaming Commission( AIGC ).

In 2022, the Coyotes will switch arenas.

The Arizona Coyotes will be playing home games at the new Arizona State University hockey arena in Tempe.

The team plans to play at the ASU arena for three years while they wait for their new hockey arena to go through the development process. The Coyotes are investing more than $1.7 billion in a new stadium in Tempe. They’re also investing $20 million in the new ASU arena as part of their deal to play there for the next three years.

Arizona sports gambling legislation have limitations based on the number of seats available.

According to Arizona & rsquo’s 2021 sports betting law, professional sports teams could only run sportsbooks in stadiums with a capacity of more than 10,000 spectators.

The ASU arena can only accommodate 5,000 spectators, compared to the Gila River Arena & nbsp’s capacity of over 18, 000. The Coyotes may be prohibited from using their mobile sports betting application while visiting the ASU industry under the current law.

The Coyotes have made it clear that they won’t be using the ASU venue to start a casino. The team wants to keep running its mobile sports betting app, & nbsp, which in March brought in just$ 62 000 in wagers.

The Coyotes operates the Sahara Bets betting app.

The Coyotes and the Arizona Indian Gaming Commission are at odds.

The Coyotes believe that they should be allowed to continue their online sports betting app, while the AIGC disagrees, arguing that laws shouldn’t change to make exceptions for a single organization.

When the new law, which allowed professional sports teams to run casinos, went into effect, the tribes lost their exclusive rights to all sports betting in Arizona.

The community contends that altering this regulation would be against the conditions the AIGC entered into when renunciating their right to exclusivity.

Pictures taken by Paul Sancya for AP
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