Ak-Chin forced to double down on casino after sports betting license bust

The Ak-Chin Indian Community might best be known for its longtime ownership of the Harrah’s Casino in Maricopa. But the tribe’s foray into live event wagering wasn’t so smooth.

The ink of then-Gov. Doug Ducey’s signature legalizing sports betting had hardly dried when the tribe pounced to secure one of just 10 coveted licenses in 2021, this time rolling the dice on a burgeoning industry from the player’s perch at the poker table.

But lady luck frowned upon the tribe as it became the first and only in Arizona to lose its sports betting license.

Since live event wagering was legalized less than two years ago, Arizonans have wagered nearly $10 billion en route to emerging as the biggest state in the West for sports betting. It all happened on the backs of just 10 Indian tribes, including the one based in Maricopa.

Each tribe was partnered with a sports betting operator. But New York City-based Fubo Gaming wasn’t all-in on Arizona, leaving its partner Ak-Chin high and dry after pulling out of the state earlier this year.

“We are thrilled to partner with Ak-Chin,” Fubo Gaming President Scott Butera said in 2021.

Clearly, it ended up being a bad beat.

“There is one tribal entity that is no longer licensed to conduct event wagering,” Arizona Gaming Department spokesperson Maxwell Hartgraves told InMaricopa. A review of agency records confirms Ak-Chin was the first and only tribe to shutter its sportsbook after just one year.

The state gaming department will begin accepting applications for the vacant tribal sports betting license next month, Hartgraves said. Applications open Aug. 1 and close Aug. 15, with a decision to be made Aug. 29.

Although Ak-Chin was partnered with Fubo Gaming for its mobile betting outfit, that doesn’t mean curtains for sports bettors at the tribe’s Harrah’s Casino in Maricopa.

The casino’s retail sportsbook also opened in 2021. While on Ak-Chin land, it’s operated by Caesars Entertainment.

Caesars can’t keep Ak-Chin’s mobile gaming afloat because the Las Vegas gambling powerhouse is already involved in a partnership with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix.

Bettors visiting and living in Maricopa won’t be affected by the relinquished license, officials said. At the casino, “Nothing changes there,” Harrah’s spokesperson Abbie Fink said.

A spokesperson for Caesars Entertainment declined to comment for this story.

But tribal leaders said they’re not giving up so easily.

The Ak-Chin tribe told InMaricopa that, despite the state placing its one-time sports betting license on the auction block, tribal operators haven’t totally abandoned their dream of finding a new partnership and putting mobile wagering back in the portfolio.

“Things are still going on and in process, so everything is still up in the air at this time,” tribal spokesperson Bart Smith said. “But right now, there’s no comment.”