Arizona Online Gambling Laws
Casino Gambling Age in Arizona Betting at online casinos is illegal in Arizona and we advise against making any attempt to do so. Players are still allowed to bet at one of the state’s 34 tribal casinos, however, as well as play the lottery and engage in sports betting. These activities require players to be at least 21 years old. Arizona Online Gambling Laws Arizona is more gambling friendly than some other states in the US, with nearly 30 Class II and Class III tribal casinos operating within its borders. There are also markets for a state lottery, charitable gambling, horse racing betting, bingo, and more. But when it comes to online gambling in Arizona, you may be a bit fuzzy. No, there isn’t any regulated online gambling in Arizona offered by in-state providers. The casinos are strictly brick and mortar, and not virtual. Lottery sales are also strictly in-person, at least for now.
Arizona is more gambling friendly than some other states in the US, with nearly 30 Class II and Class III tribal casinos operating within its borders. There are also markets for a state lottery, charitable gambling, horse racing betting, bingo, and more.
However, there are not yet any Arizona online gambling laws that bring these games to residents’ homes and mobile devices in a domestic fashion. While retail betting is abundant, the lack of a local online option for these pastimes is decidedly inconvenient and incongruous with consumer habits of the 21st century. Yes, even out in the desert.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that those living in the Grand Canyon state have to dig themselves out of a hole, as there are plenty of legal online casino, sports betting, poker, and bingo options available at reputable international gambling sites that accept AZ players at just 18 and up.
Other Arizona Gambling Pages
Is Online Gambling Legal In Arizona?
Arizona gambling law does not specifically outlaw online gambling, but it doesn’t provide for any domestic options to participate in the pastime, either.
As a result, the only legal online gambling options for AZ players are currently those offered by legitimate Arizona online casinos, AZ online poker rooms, and Arizona online sportsbooks which are licensed, regulated and located outside of the United States.
Playing at these sites – so long as you’re at least 18 years of age – violates no state or US gambling laws.
There are several secure and reputable options recommended throughout this guide that provide safe Arizona online gambling environments. These operators are legally licensed and certified, and they’re closely monitored via strict regulation and industry watchdogs to ensure fair iGaming practices.
Arizona Social Gambling Laws
Arizona gambling law permits social gambling. Social gambling refers to gambling that is not run as part of a business or operated for a profit.
The players must compete against each other on equal terms – each must have an equal chance of winning or losing, and there can be no house entity that takes a cut or a “rake.”
Thus, things like home poker games are legal in Arizona if these conditions are met. Most states have similar (if not identical) social gaming laws.
Arizona Pari-Mutuel Gambling Laws
Pari-mutuel wagering is legal in Arizona, so you can bet on horses. In the 1950s, horse racing and dog racing were legalized in Arizona. However, greyhound racing is no longer offered in the state.
The Arizona Department of Gaming oversees horse racing in the state, and you can place bets at the horse tracks themselves or at any number of OTBs (off-track betting venues).
You can bet on horses online if you live in Arizona, but only if you do so at the most reputable international sportsbooks operating overseas. These sites offer racebooks with daily horse odds from tracks all around the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, the Middle East, Australia, Japan, and more.
State Lottery Gambling In Arizona
The Arizona Lottery was approved by a statewide public initiative in November 1980. The referendum was passed by a slim margin, though subsequent referenda received more support.
In 2002, nearly 73% of residents voted in favor of extending the lottery for another 10 years. In 2012, a piece of legislation was passed which extended the lottery to 2035.
In most states, the minimum age for participating in the state lottery is 18. In a few states, though, the minimum age is 21, and Arizona is one of them. Interstate lotteries, like the Powerball and Mega Millions, are allowed in AZ.
Arizona Tribal Gambling Laws
In the early 1990s, the Indian tribes in Arizona received state permission to convert their bingo halls into Class II and Class III casinos. However, the state deferred, and the local tribes went on to install slot machines without any compacts with the state.
This lead to a legal battle, and a federal court held that the state must negotiate with the tribes per the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA, 1988).
Subsequently, in 1992, AZ started signing compacts with the Indian tribes. In 2002, voters were asked to decide whether or not to expand the compacts, which passed the referendum.
Arizona Online Sports Betting
Presently, 16 federally recognized Arizona Indian tribes have compacts with the state, and most venues are proper Class III casinos with all the games you expect. There are currently 26 tribal casinos in AZ, though tribes are not allowed to offer online casino games.
Federal Online Gambling Laws Concerning Arizona
Presently, there are no USA federal gambling laws that prohibit participating in online gambling. The two federal mandates that are associated with online gambling – the Wire Act and the UIGEA – do not ban or limit access to the pastime in any way.
As a result, Arizona players who are at least 18 years of age are free to wager and win real money at legally licensed and regulated online gambling sites that are located outside of the USA.
These federal laws are limited only to gaming operators and banking institutions that are based in the United States, and they do not criminalize individual gamblers. This is why it is entirely safe to use any reputable online betting site like those listed on this page.
Resources For Arizona Gambling Laws
Players who want to review the official Arizona gambling laws can read them entirely at the government’s official online portal for the Arizona Revised Statutes. The section in question is 13-3301 et seq., which you can find here.
For the AZ laws regarding pari-mutuel horse racing betting, you can find detailed information in Title 5 of the same legal document.
FAQs for Arizona Gambling Laws
What are the consequences for illegal gambling in Arizona?
In Arizona, if you have been caught operating or contributing to any unlicensed gambling activities, you can be hit with a “promotion of gambling” felony charge that carries a jail term of more than one year.
However, these laws are targeted at those who facilitate unlawful gambling, not individual gamblers themselves.
Still, there is no reason to participate in AZ black market gambling when you can safely and legally play with overseas operators who offer hundreds of games, thousands of daily betting lines, and guaranteed payouts.
What makes social gambling different from other types of gambling?
Social gambling is legal in Arizona because it lacks the distinctions that qualify gambling enterprises as actual businesses.
The main difference between social gambling and illegal forms of gambling entertainment is that there is no house entity for the former. The host of the private dwelling or club where social gambling takes place cannot take a cut of the action, and all winnings must be risked – and paid out to – the players themselves.
What is pari-mutuel wagering?
Often used in horse and greyhound racing, pari-mutuel betting is a type of gambling activity where all bets are placed in a pool. Payouts are then divided up amongst all the winners.
Essentially, with this pool-based betting system, you’re placing a bet against all the other players instead of a bookmaker or the house.
Pari-mutuel gambling is typically allowed at the state level because wagers are not house-banked and the operators do not have the opportunity to earn more or less money depending on the results. They take a fixed percentage, and all remaining monies are paid out to winning tickets.
How old do I have to be to play the lottery in Arizona?
Arizona is somewhat unique among states in that residents must be at least 21 years old to play the lottery. In most states with lotteries, players only have to be 18.
Of course, if you’re between 18 and 20 years of age, you can play various lottery games at any respected offshore gambling site listed here.
Can I game online with websites that are based in Arizona?
No. Online simulated gambling – where no money is risked or won – is legal per AZ laws, but this isn’t really gambling at all.
For real-money online casino games, online poker, online sports betting, online bingo, and online horse racing betting, you must use a legitimate international gambling site like any service listed here.
*** Disclaimer: This site is intended only to provide cursory information about Arizona gambling laws. We do not provide legal advice or legal services of any kind. If you need professional guidance about Arizona gambling laws, please contact a qualified lawyer who specializes in the field.
Of the many numerous images that are evocative of the history of the Old West, those of hardscrabble miners, nefarious lawmen, and inveterate gamblers crowded around a gaming table in a boisterous saloon is one of the most poignant. Towns with names like Abilene, Kansas, Deadwood, South Dakota, and Pikes Peak, Colorado fill the pages of history books and the imaginations of generations of Americans.
Perhaps the most famous of these towns on the American frontier however, is Tombstone, Arizona. Made famous in legend and lore, the town's reputation for incorrigible behavior threatened to torpedo the 1912 admission of The Grand Canyon State as the final 'Lower 48' in the Union before the state's Founding Fathers agreed to shutter the offending casinos.
Arizona Gambling Laws
In keeping with their commitment to ban gambling from their borders, Arizona legislators have adopted a strict approach to their enforcement of gaming laws within the state, and they have embraced one of the broadest definition of what encompasses gambling.
Conversely, the state also supports a host of regulated gambling endeavors including nearly two dozen tribal casinos dotted around the state, social gambling, horse racing, and charitable gambling. As with most states, social gambling in Arizona is defined in a typical manner. To wit, in a social gambling situation, 'no person should benefit from operation of the game, and all players must enjoy equal standing under the rules and structure of the game.
Under Section 13-3301 of the Arizona criminal code, gambling is defined, in part, as 'Gambling' or 'Gamble' means one act of risking or giving something of value for the opportunity to obtain benefit from a game or contest of chance or skill, or a future contingent event.'
What sets this Arizona statute apart from just about every other state in the nation is its prohibition against games of 'skills' in addition to games of pure 'chance.'
Owing to these strictures against games of 'skill,' poker would most certainly fall outside the realm of legality unless played through one of the state's regulated gaming markets listed above. While the legislation neither addresses live poker nor online poker specifically, the prohibitions against games of 'skill' certainly would include both forms of gaming entertainment, but players are not legally challenged with an arrest, while bookies and gambling operators are occasionally targeted when law enforcement officials receive specific complaints of abuse.
Arizona Online Gambling Laws
Is Online Poker Legal in Arizona?
Like many jurisdictions, The Grand Canyon State's legal code is outdated relative to the fast advances of online gaming in the last decade, which allows room for interpretation when testing the laws against new online gaming platforms.
Most assuredly, Arizona's gaming community is bustling. With more than three and half million people over the age of 21 calling Arizona home, industry experts estimate that ten percent, or 350,000, are keen to play poker in the hot Arizona desert. For those on the state's borders, due south leads to gaming options below the United States-Mexican border, while a trip northward brings residents to the gaming tables of Las Vegas.
As mentioned, the state also sports a thriving Indian gaming industry with twenty-two casinos in operation across the state, and sixteen of those feature live poker rooms that rival the best gaming options on the Las Vegas famous Strip. While the rise of tribal gaming in the 1990s sparked a myriad of legal challenges that rocked the Arizona court system well into the next decade, but have now become a bastion of legal gaming for the avid players of The Grand Canyon State.
Still at issue, is the fate of online poker in the state. Arizona law stops the state, or any tribal organization, from establishing to conducting an online gaming presence under the provisions of Arizona Revised Statutes 5-501 (I) and 5-601.02. As such, poker aficionados can expect to see further courtroom battles.
While the legal prohibitions against gambling can easily be applied to online gaming, no specific Arizona law currently criminal online play specifically. To date, no record indicates that any individual online poker player has been prosecuted for playing.
Is it Illegal to Play Poker in Arizona?
Yes, it is illegal to pay online poker in Arizona under the broad interpretation of the word 'gambling' in the state. While no criminal statutes specifically mention either the internet or online gaming, the state has certainly outlawed the practice under the broadest understanding of their legal code.
Will Arizona Regulate Online Poker?
An open ended question, as mentioned, the state is still battling with tribal groups over their ability to establish and operate a legal online poker platform, so whether or not Arizona will be moving towards a regulation of online poker is difficult to judge. A silver lining for proponents of legal online poker is an exploration of the state's Social Gambling definition.
Arizona's stance, which indicates Social Gambling is expressly legal, one might theoretically operate a not-for-profit site that doesn't take a rake? One would also seem to think that the gamers is playing for entertainment rather than profit, which is perfectly legal under current Arizona law.
As legal gambling is the province of tribal areas within Arizona, many legal questions are yet to be addressed before a widespread acceptance of online poker play. Whereas state legislators seem conservatively opposed to an expansion of online gaming options, specifically if it means adhering to a federal mandate, the body might need to be pushed through a popular referendum of the citizenry.
History of Gambling in Arizona
Gambling was synonymous with the old west, and Arizona's frontier history was no exception. In a bid to secure statehood in 1912, the territory outlawed all forms of gambling, which was in line with early 20h-century sensibilities during the height of the Progressive Era.
Such was the state of gaming affairs in Arizona for the next seven decades when state legislators voted in 1980 to participate in a state lottery system. Today, the state is part of the multi-state lottery Association with such draw games as Fantasy 5, Powerball, The Pick, as well as a myriad of instant scratch tickets.
Eight years later, tribal casinos were legalized, which launched a decade of legal challenges that have finally subsided, but future battles loom on the horizon concerning what, if any role these tribal organizations will have in the creation and operation of online poker rooms.
Reviving a frontier tradition centered on horse racing was the impetus for the 1992 passage of legalized horse racing in the state. Currently, people who like to 'play the ponies' have three legal race tracks to ply their particular skill set.