Casinos in Arizona

Sam OkaforLand-based casinos and travelUpdated September 22, 20264 min readFact-checked against operator terms

Try your hand at casinos in Arizona

If you would like to know which Arizona casinos are the best to gamble at, we urge you to browse through our useful directory where you can pick and choose from the many options that are available to you. However, before you choose your perfect one, it’s important to recognize that it wasn’t always as easy to step inside you favorite gambling establishment and start winning the big bucks.

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See, gambling had always been an incredibly important part of Arizona’s history, even long before statehood. However, even though this was the case, land based casinos struggled to find their way into the union of states and this struggle continued well into the past century. Nonetheless, avenues such as lottery and charitable gambling achieved full acceptance and it was only a matter of time until land based casinos were fully accepted as well.

In the 1990’s, tribal gaming exploded in the state of Arizona, and after a rather hefty legal battle, things were finally able to change. Today, Arizona is offers an abundance of one hundred percent safe, secured and trusted Native American gambling establishments, many of which actually rival casinos on Las Vegas strip! All of these great casinos are located in the ‘Valley of the Sun’ in the South West of the state. This makes for a sensationally beautiful home for the casinos, surrounding by enchanting scenery and glorious weather—elements that are sure to put any gambler in high spirits as soon as they walk through the casino doors.

Arizona Gambling Laws

Arizona is home to 22 different tribes and within the tribal lands the residents can enjoy all possible gambling opportunities; outside the tribal lands all legalized gambling is limited.

Casinos in Arizona — Photo: Ingolfson at English Wikipedia (Original text: Uploader.), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Tribal casinos

In Arizona, all types of gambling are permitted on Native American land in accordance with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IRGA). As such, all tribal casinos here is authorized by the state (for example,Twin Arrows Navajo Casino Resort, which is one of the newest in the area, and the Yavapai Casino, which offers 525 slot games). There are 15 tribes operating 22 casinos across Arizona; the legal gambling age across all these casinos is 21.

Commercial Casinos

Although the casino industry in Arizona focuses on tribal gaming, there are a few Native American tribes that have formed partnerships with commercial operators to make their casinos possible. Gaming giant Caesar’s Entertainment Corporation (formerly known as Harrah’s Entertainment), for example, partnered up with the Ak-Chin Indian Community to establish a presence in the state. Today, the Harrah Ak-Chin Casino Resort is owned by the tribe, but operated by the corporation.

Online casinos

There are currently no regulations in relation to online gambling in Arizona. But according to its law, serious punishments will be implemented towards illegal online casino operators. Participants are not subjected to these serious penalties. Even promotion of unsanctioned gambling is punishable under the Arizona gambling laws.

Live poker

Player versus player poker rooms can be found in Indian casinos and more than 20 card rooms are located in native Indian territories. Home based games are also allowed as long as they remain social. It means that they should not involve any fees, as this would constitute a form of added benefit in the part of the host, which is deemed illegal under the Arizona gambling law.

Sports betting

Sports betting is allowed in Arizona, having a lot of racetracks within the state. Players can bet on either horse racing or greyhounds, as long as they are not being held on the same day. Pari-mutuel betting is legal and they offer simulcast races as well. Racing tracks for horses in Arizona include Rillito Downs in Tucson and Turf Paradise in Phoenix. For greyhound racing, Tucson Greyhound Racing offers live races, but the Phoenix Greyhound Racing tracks does not offer live races anymore, and instead offers simulcast races that you can bet on through different off-track betting sites. Allowed age to bet on these races, whether live or off-track, is 21 or above. Despite being legal in many jurisdictions, Fantasy Sports betting is illegal in Arizona.

Bingo and pull-tab games

Although strictly regulated, bingo is allowed on tribal lands and charity purposes. Establishments that offer bingo games also offer pull-tab games to their patrons. When playing for charity, however, these games will need to get a license in advance. The legal age for bingo and related pull-tab games is also 18 and above.

Online poker

Just like other online casinos, there are currently no regulations involving online poker games. However, since online poker falls under the “gambling” category in the Grand Canyon State, operating and participating are prohibited.

Lottery

Arizona became the first state west of the Mississippi to have a state-administered lottery (in 1980). Arizona lottery includes both draws and instant games. They also participate in inter-state draws such as the Mega Millions. The minimum age for the lottery is 18.

There are some strange contradictions in Arizona’s gambling laws – players also face a little less risk as compared to operators when engaging in illegal gambling activity, as the law focuses more on punishing operators over the ones participating in the games.