Last updated on August 29th, 2021 at 04:59 am
Arizona will launch sports betting on September 9. After that, however, it faced a roadblock as the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe called Arizona sports betting unconstitutional. They claimed the Governor’s office strong-armed the rural tribes to agree with the new compact.
The Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe runs the Bucky’s and Yavapai gambling clubs close to Prescott. It was one of two tribes that didn’t sign new gaming compacts with the state recently as a component of an exchange with Governor Doug Ducey.
The new compacts permitted the tribe to extend their gambling clubs and deal with new table games like baccarat and craps. Also, the tribes would support House Bill 2772 to allow pro sports organizations and tribes to offer mobile games wagering off the reservations. According to betting software reports, the bill also will enable sportsbooks at sports stadiums.
Arizona Sports Betting Unconstitutional
According to sports betting bookie software experts, the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe was not part of the discussions about the new compact. Also, the state presented the compact to the tribe as a non-negotiable item. Thus, the tribe filed a lawsuit.
The Office of the Governor declined to comment on the issue. Instead, they claimed that the governor wasn’t part of the negotiations with the rural tribes. Also, Senator TJ Shope, sponsor of the sports betting bill, defended the law as constitutional.
According to sports betting solutions experts, Shope didn’t like the timing of the lawsuit. He said that the tribe should have filed it during the legislative session, not when the sports betting market was about to launch.
The senator expects the court to dismiss the lawsuit right away. That way, the state can gain economic benefits that are part of the new gaming compact. The lawsuit asks the court to stop the issuing of licenses and prevent sports betting from launching on September 9.
