{"id":16061,"date":"2021-09-21T15:53:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-21T19:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=16061"},"modified":"2021-09-21T15:53:01","modified_gmt":"2021-09-21T19:53:01","slug":"cronkite-news-fans-line-up-for-first-day-of-sports-betting-in-arizona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/09\/21\/cronkite-news-fans-line-up-for-first-day-of-sports-betting-in-arizona\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronkite News: Fans line up for first day of sports betting in Arizona"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\"September\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\tSeptember 9th, 2021 Newscast | Cronkite News\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
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Sports betting goes live in Arizona; teaching younger generations about the September 11 terrorist attacks; Tempe plans to add electric car charging stations…<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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Cronkite News: Sports betting goes live in Arizona<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n
Pick\u2019em: Sport gambling in Arizona underway and options are plentiful<\/div>\r\n
Tuesday, September 21, 2021<\/div>\r\n
By Claire Cornelius and Nick Zeller-Singh<\/div>\r\n
Cronkite News<\/DIV>\r\n
cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nPHOENIX, Arizona — With early morning fanfare at Chase Field, a brand new day dawned in Arizona sports history.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nBy 7:30 a.m. on September 9, sports fans and gambling fans lined up outside the Diamondbacks\u2019 field, waiting to marry their two passions. Once one lucky fan placed the first bet at one of the five temporary betting windows, legalized sports gambling in the state finally became the norm.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe festivities continued later in the afternoon at Footprint Center as the Suns heralded the advent of live sports betting, while Phoenix Raceway in Avondale readied for its own historic moment.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nSports gambling has already been legalized in 25 states plus the District of Columbia. Arizona joined them today when sports betting operations officially and theatrically opened for business. The state\u2019s professional teams upped the ante by announcing sports betting partnerships with companies like Caesars Sportsbook, FanDuel and Barstool Sportsbook.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cWe\u2019re in the first inning of this industry,\u201d Trey Wingo, the former longtime ESPN anchor who is now Caesars Sportsbook\u2019s Chief Trends Officer and Brand Ambassador, said as he officially celebrated the launch of Caesars Sportsbook at Chase Field. \u201cThe top of the first inning.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\nIt was a long time coming. After \u201cfive years in the making\u201d sports betting in Arizona is officially legal, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said. Ducey signed the bill into law in April after state legislators approved it.\r\n

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The FanDuel Sportsbook at Footprint Center in Phoenix attracted fans interested in betting on games during the first day of legalized sports betting in Arizona. Photo by James Franks \/ Cronkite News<\/figcaption>\r\n

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Footprint Center welcomes first bettors<\/div>\r\n\u201cHere we are and Phoenix is one of the fastest growing cities in America,\u201d former NBA player Richard Jeffereson told a giddy crowd as FanDuel Sportsbook launched at the Footprint Center, home of the Suns, Phoenix Mercury and Arizona Rattlers football team.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nJefferson and Channing Frye, both retired Suns players, joined Ducey and other Valley luminaries at the downtown arena to mark the momentous day. The hoopla was followed by a watch party for the NFL season opener between the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the perfect backdrop for gamblers and sports fans alike.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nEarlier in the day, the Diamondbacks were the first MLB team to open a sportsbook after the team partnered with Caesars Sportsbook, which has plans to convert the Game Seven Grill into a 20,000 square-foot sportsbook, restaurant and sports bar. Luis Gonzalez, the Diamondbacks legend, was on hand to help place the first ceremonial bets for charity.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of people that have been asking us to help legalize sports gaming,\u201d Arizona Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall said. \u201cIt\u2019s been taking place anyways. Those that want to gamble, they\u2019ve found ways to gamble. Now we can collect the data, control the data, we can watch it, have safeguards for responsible gaming, and we can collect revenue for the state, too.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\nRevenue from sports betting at Chase Field will go to K-12 education, tribal nations, social safety and infrastructure, Ducey said.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe partnership with Caesars Sportsbook is based on the premise of responsible gambling.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cWe\u2019re gonna have to do our part in making sure that we promote, that we educate, that we do it responsibly, that we protect the integrity of our sport and of our industry,\u201d Hall said.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\"Sports<\/a>

Sports gamblers have the option of placing bets at kiosks instead of at betting windows at the FanDuel Sportsbook at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Photo by James Franks \/ Cronkite News<\/figcaption> \r\n

<\/p>\r\nOther possible ways to promote responsible sports betting are to remove or limit alcohol advertisements in stadiums, Wingo said.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nAnyone can now place physical bets on any sport at Chase Field\u2019s betting windows. The Caesars Sportsbook app will allow fans attending Diamondbacks games to place live in-game bets from their seats, increasing fan engagement levels.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cRegardless of the game score, or the game situation, people are always going to be focused on the game, because it may have profits, they may have a bet on the next inning, who\u2019s going to score the first run, who\u2019s going to score the first home run,\u201d Hall said.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nGame Seven Grill outside of Chase Field will be renovated into a 20,000 square-foot sportsbook and open to the public by early 2022, according to David Grolman, senior vice president of operations at Caesars Retail.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nGrolman runs over 170 sportsbooks across the United States, but he says the book at Chase Field will be completely different from all other books.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cU.S. sportsbooks typically are part of a casino, where you have that built-in gaming environment already,\u201d Grolman said. \u201cWe have to build that into the new sportsbook.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe book additions to Chase Field and Footprint Center will not change the culture of Arizona, Ducey said.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cArizona is not Las Vegas, and with the modernization of this gaming compact, we\u2019re not going to be Las Vegas,\u201d Ducey said.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n \"Sports<\/a>

Gamblers could place bets at ticket windows at Chase Field in Phoenix on the first day of legalized sports betting in Arizona on September 9, 2021. Photo by Mallory Schnell \/ Cronkite News <\/figcaption>\r\n

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Phoenix Raceway introduces online betting<\/div>\r\nIn Avondale, Phoenix Raceway embraced the state\u2019s new gambling laws, partnering with Barstool Sportsbook. According to Jon Kaplowitz, Senior VP of Penn Interactive, Barstool Sportsbook proved it can be a market leader for NASCAR because of a combination of unique offers and a leading mobile experience.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nPenn National Gaming, a gaming operator of casinos and tracks, bought 36% of Barstool Sportsbook earlier this year.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nAlthough Barstool Sportsbook is new to the desert, Penn National Gaming has already made an impact in NASCAR.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cNASCAR has a longstanding relationship with Penn National Gaming,\u201d said Julie Giese, president of Phoenix Raceway. \u201cWe have a larger program with them from the NASCAR perspective and knew each other and the potential of that partnership, so we are excited to have them.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\nTim Clark, NASCAR\u2019s Chief Digital Officer, is also excited about the partnership with Phoenix Raceway and Penn National Gaming because of the potential benefits.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cAs our first authorized gaming operator, Penn National has been invested in engaging NASCAR fans since we began building our position in the sports betting space,\u201d Clark said.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nAlthough NASCAR does not travel to Arizona until November, Giese and her staff look to use the new gambling laws to engage with sports bettors across the state.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cWe use sports betting as a way to increase fan interest, engagement, and reach out to new demographics,\u201d Giese said. \u201cIt might be somebody that is younger or a diverse audience. For us, we just want to continue to provide an open environment for everybody and this is a way to get their interest.\u201d\r\n

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