It is illegal to operate or play at a online gambling site that is located in Arizona. The only legal online gambling options for AZ players at this point are the legal Arizona online casinos, poker rooms. Several of Arizona’s casinos offer free play options through their websites. Casino del Sol offers a connection to Double Down Casino. Ak-Chin brings players to Harrah’s online site (which includes.

Arizona’s journey into the realm of gambling has been unique.

Although the legal machinations that led to its current situation — 23 casinos open for business — are common in the United States, Arizona may be the only state that’s journey toward legalization involved an armed standoff between a group of casino supporters and law enforcement.

Arizona gambling background

As is often the case with non-Las Vegas or Atlantic City casinos, Arizona’s casino scene arose due to the Indian Regulatory Gaming Act of 1988. The act allowed federally-recognized Native American tribes to negotiate agreements (denoted as “compacts” in the language of the act) with their resident state governments. This allows the tribes to operate casinos on reservation lands.

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In Arizona’s case, that meant 22 tribes could potentially come to the state legislature in search of agreements allowing Vegas-style casinos on their property.

Unfortunately, many of Arizona’s tribes chose to move forward and install gaming on their reservations in the early 1990s. They did so without the benefit of negotiating compacts with the state.

Arguments between the two parties continued until May 1992. At that time, the National Indian Gaming Commission clarified that tribes must have a compact with the state to operate slot machines. As a result, Governor Fife Symington asked the FBI to raid the offending casinos. What happened at the Fort McDowellCasino was unprecedented in the movement toward gambling within a state.

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The Yavapai Indians operated a casino with about 300 slot machines on their Fort McDowell reservation. At the time of the FBI’s raid, several other tribes had already had their machines seized. So the tribe prepared for action when its turn came.

At dawn on May 12, 1992, federal agents converged on the casino. They loaded the machines into trailers to be hauled away. The tribe responded by blocking the only entrance road to the casino with heavy-duty machinery and large vehicles. After an eight-hour standoff that featured an agent with a rifle and binoculars keeping watch on the roof of the casino, the agents agreed to leave the machines behind for a cooling-off period. The incident ended up lasting three weeks.

In the end, the tribe’s pleas about the casino’s economic impact found an audience. Pressure on the governor caused him to come to the negotiating table. He eventually agreed to compacts with 16 of Arizona’s 22 tribes.

Ultimately, Arizona ended up signing deals with all but one of its tribes. The Hopi are the lone nation without a compact. Of the 22 tribes with compacts, 16 operate at least one casino. Currently, there is a total of 23 facilities operating in the state.

Sweepstakes casinos in Arizona

Social casino site options

Several of Arizona’s casinos offer free play options through their websites.

Casino del Sol offers a connection to Double Down Casino.Ak-Chin brings players to Harrah’s online site (which includes Slotomania). Talking Stick Casino and the Desert Diamond properties each have their own sites.

These offerings have advantages for both players and casinos. It allows players to experience the thrills of playing slots without losing money. At the same time, they can familiarize themselves with the machines they’re likely to see at each casino. For the casinos, these sites bring in new customers who are already prepped on what each casino has. Thus, if the customer visits, they’re already loyal.

As usual, Arizonans also have access to the usual Facebook and mobile device apps not covered by the casinos themselves – Big Fish, Zynga, and such.

It also bears mentioning that Arizona’s proximity to Las Vegas (particularly in the northern part of the state) increases the value and usefulness of using the MyVegas app, which is owned and operated by MGM.

MyVegas has a wide list of partner organizations (including most of its Las Vegas properties). Through diligent free play, players can earn loyalty points. Players can redeem points for real world comps, like free hotel rooms, free food in restaurants, or real money for use in the casino.

Land-based slots options

Below are the six largest casinos (by number of slot machines) in Arizona:

Online gambling options

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Arizona’s gambling laws do not address online gambling. Residents have no state-sanctioned or regulated online casinos inside state lines to play. There are also no prohibitions against playing on offshore sites.

As is the case in many states, Arizona state law simply has not kept up with the electronic version of gambling. For Arizonans, it exists in a grey zone.

Additionally, neither retail sports betting or Arizona online sports betting is legal.

Operator profile

Desert Diamond Casinos

Desert Diamond Casinos is a group of four tribal casinos located in Tucson, Sahuarita, Why, and Glendale (“West Valley”).

Together, they offer Arizonans options for gaming, dining, and entertainment. The casinos are clustered around the major metropolitan areas in Arizona. Each casino offers hundreds of slot machines, dozens of table games, and shopping options. The Why location even has a convenience store.

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There is no doubt that these casinos are geared toward locals. There are amenities and entertainment options, but the focus in a suburban setting is more on the pure gaming side of things. People going to these casinos just got off work and have their own places to sleep. They just want to unwind and play a few hands or spin the reels a few times.

The Desert Diamond Casinos are owned by the Tohono O’odham Nation, a branch of the O’odham people, which includes the Ak-Chin and Gila River groups (who own casinos themselves).

The larger nation used to extend across the border into Mexico. But the Gadsden Purchase, and the drawing of borders between Mexico and the United States, have created a delicate situation for the people of the tribe who want to visit and use their traditional lands. Regardless, the tribe has managed to prosper through the rights afforded it by the IGRA. In doing so, it’s fashioning its own history each year.

State legal environment

Yes, but mainly in Native American casinos. With the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1986, Native Americans obtained the legal right to offer gambling on their reservations. It went into effect in 1993, but it took another decade for individual tribal compacts to be completed. Among the 21 tribes, there are a total of 25 casinos throughout the state, all with the option to offer everything from live poker and table games to slot machines and video poker, many even offering hotel and other accommodations.

Betting is allowed on horse and dog racing but only at the tracks, as no off-track wagering is permitted. There is a legal lottery, as well as bingo and charitable fundraisers using casino themes. Raffles are also legal, as is social gambling.

Legal poker may fall into the category of social gaming, but it is not specified.

Can I Play Online Poker in Arizona?

The poker laws of Arizona do not specifically address online poker as a legal or illegal form of gambling.

Some of Arizona’s gambling laws fall under Title 5, which is categorized for “Amusements and Sports.” Bingo, racing, lottery, and Indian reservation gambling all fall under that section of the state statutes.

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Gambling in general, on the other hand, is addressed in Title 13, the “Criminal Code” portion of the statute. Chapter 33 of that section goes into gambling, and the first section defines “amusement gambling” as “involving a device, game or contest which is played for entertainment” if all of the following conditions apply: Players actively participate in the game, the outcome is not in the control of any person other than the players, and prizes are not offered as “a lure to separate the player or players from their money.”

In addition, at least one of these must apply to be construed as gambling: Players do not benefit other than to replay, which is not exchangeable for value, no one other than players derive a profit from money paid by players in an athletic event, money paid to gamble is part of purchase price of product and no drawing is held to determine winners, or skill is the predominant factor in the game.

That final portion of the gambling definition is important to relay in full:

“Skill and not chance is clearly the predominant factor in the game and the odds of winning the game based upon chance cannot be altered, provided the game complies with any licensing or regulatory requirements by the jurisdiction in which it is operated, no benefit for a single win is given to the player or players other than a merchandise prize which has a wholesale fair market value of less than ten dollars or coupons which are redeemable only at the place of play and only for a merchandise prize which has a fair market value of less than ten dollars and, regardless of the number of wins, no aggregate of coupons may be redeemed for a merchandise prize with a wholesale fair market value of greater than five hundred fifty dollars.”

Legislators clearly wanted to separate games of skill and chance, though they chose a very confusingly wordy way to do it.

There are exclusions to the bill, however, in a section that details conduct that is “not unlawful”:

• Amusement gambling
• Social gambling
• Regulated gambling

This is where the definition of social gambling comes in as “gambling that is not conducted as a business and that involves players who compete on equal terms with each other in a gamble if all of the following apply”: No player receives benefits other than winnings, no other person benefits from the gambling activity, no players are below 21 years old, and no player enjoys an advantage over another player via the game rules. Poker should apply under this statute, but it has never been tested in court.

Other key components of the statute include:

• Promotion of gambling is a class 5 felony.
• Simply benefiting from social or any type of gambling, if done knowingly, can be charged as a class 1 misdemeanor.
• Accepting bets is also a class 1 misdemeanor.
• Possessing a gambling device or records can be class 1 misdemeanors.

While some aspects of online poker can be included in various parts of the state statutes, there is no mention of online poker or online gambling specifically. This means the state does not regulate online poker, though its official stance on online gambling – a game of skill, no less – remains confusing.

With that said, there has never been any indication that Arizona authorities cared to prosecute online poker sites, much less the players on those sites.

Disclaimer: This is not written by an attorney and is not or should not be construed as legal advice. Please consult an attorney for help interpreting these laws as they pertain to any given situation.

Latest Developments Regarding Online Poker in Arizona

Despite Arizona being a home to many poker players, as well as located near the card rooms of California and the gambling mecca of Las Vegas in Nevada, the poker industry has never focused much energy on pursuing legalized online poker for Arizona. If California legalized the games, there would be a better chance of seeing legislation in Arizona, but neither is likely as 2018 gets underway.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: Are there live poker rooms at Native American casinos?

Answer: Yes. Many casinos have notable poker rooms, some that offer big tournament series like the annual Arizona State Poker Championships. Players travel from many neighboring states to play.

Question: Have Arizona online players ever been harassed by law enforcement?

Answer: No. There are no recorded incidents of online poker players being singled out by any state officials for playing online poker or any type of internet gambling. Players are generally safe from this type of prosecution in the United States, as evidenced by the lack of any player charges on Black Friday.

Question: Would tribes consider launching online poker sites under their compacts?

Answer: Current Native American gambling compacts do not expressly permit online gambling sites, so compacts would have to be renegotiated with the state in order to pursue online gambling. There would have to be a concerted effort on the part of tribal leaders to lobby the state for this change, and most Native American tribes across America have been hesitant to transition any of their gambling opportunities to the online sphere thus far.

Fun Facts

Pokerstars Arizona

• Abbreviation:AZ
• Nickname: The Grand Canyon State
• Capital: Phoenix
• Largest city:Phoenix
• Population: 6,931,071 (14^th of 50 states)
• Area: 113,990 square miles
• Famous poker players:Jake Balsiger, Tom Schneider, David Baker, Ryan Hughes, Jim Bechtel, Kevin O’Donnell, Mike Wattel, Cate Hall