Monday, September 6, marked a day for celebration for sports gamblers in Arizona, as a judge refused to block a new Arizona law, which would allow sports gambling to be run by professional teams.
With it, the expansion of sports gambling in the state can continue as planned, ushering in a new era of sports betting in the Copper State.
Native Tribes Unhappy With The Decision
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge James Smith decided against issuing an injunction on the new Arizona betting law just hours after he held an annual Labor Day hearing on the request filed by the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe. The latter wanted the law, which would allow professional sports teams from running licensed sports gambling, declared unconstitutional, arguing that it violates the state’s Voter Protection Act.
As stated by the Native American tribe, the law would illegally amend the 2002 voter initiative that authorized tribal gambling in the state of Arizona by allowing non-tribal groups to own gambling operations without needing voters to agree.
However, Mr. Smith wrote that Proposition 202 regulated the types of gambling at tribal casinos, and it does not include other forms of betting.
“Plaintiff did not cite language from the proposition indicating that Arizona would never expand gambling to different activities or locations,” explained Smith. “What is more, the proposition contemplated gambling expansions.”
Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe further argued that the law passed by Legislature and signed by the Republican governor is not fair since it allows up to 10 professional teams to run sports betting online and at or near their stadiums. Meanwhile, only ten tribes can run online sports betting operations.
That would cheat the tribes because there are only nine qualifying teams or events, while more than twice as many tribes competing for the betting licenses. What’s more, all must pay a non-refundable $100,000 application fee.
Regardless, the judge remained firm on his decision and rejected all further presented arguments. However, his ruling has said that the issue might be worth exploring down the line as the lawsuit proceeds; however, it does not justify issuing an injunction.
Tribes Argue That The Law Will Harm Their Business
Attorneys for the state further said that the tribe’s interpretation of the law is not correct and that it waited too long to prevent sports betting from starting. Smith agreed about the delayed filing of the lawsuit and noted that the legislation was signed in April, same as the updated tribal gaming compacts, signed by most of Arizona 22 tribes.
In his explanation, Smith declared the tribe’s delay filing removes the notion of “irreplaceable harm,” as used by one of the tribes’ arguments against the betting law. As stated by the tribe, allowing sports gambling outside of tribal casinos would harm the tribe’s revenue, but it couldn’t calculate how much money its casinos might lose should sport betting launch this week.
As noted by the tribe, allowing off-reservation sports betting will drive gamblers away from one of their two locations in Prescott and removed the tribes’ exclusive rights to run gambling operations. Mainly, the tribe argued about the loss of future revenue due to its inability to get an online sports gambling license.
Interestingly, two tribes – Tonto Apache Tribe of Arizona and the Quechan Tribe of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation – opposed Prescott’s tribe position and filed to intervene in the case. They said in court documents that the Prescott lawsuit threatens to financially harm their members, as one of 10 tribes that own licenses that allow them to offer mobile sports betting.
Not As Bleak As It Seems
The new law will see Ducey and most of Arizona’s 22 tribes (excluding the Yavapai-Prescott tribe), who have signed new tribal gaming compacts, greatly expanding their exclusive gambling offerings. Most notably, the tribal casinos would now be able to add Baccarat and craps to their existing offerings of slot machines.
What’s more, ten tribes were awarded sports gambling licenses, which allow them to run online sportsbooks. These new compacts result from five-year-long negotiations between the tribal leaders and the governor’s office across the state of Arizona.
The sports bettors will mostly be interested in knowing that the professional teams, including all major sports franchises, will run brick-and-mortar sports betting operations at or close to their stadiums. What’s more, they will also be able to accept bets online, further improving the accessibility of sports betting in the Copper State.
Allowing the law to go through marks a move in favor of sports betting in Arizona. As noted by Patrick Irvine, a lawyer representing the director of the Arizona Department of Gaming, delaying the launch of sports betting in the state would cost Arizona millions per month.
“There is quantifiable, identifiable, certain harm that will occur if there is a delay to the start date,” said Irvine.
At the same time, Irvine also questioned whether the tribe would actually be harmed by the launch of sports betting, jokingly stating that the tribes act like the law would set their casinos on fire. Dont forget to visit BParlay.com for future gaming news in the Betting sector.
