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AZ Senate passes bill to allow sports teams to have temporary betting venues

The state Senate passed a  bill that would allow sports teams with betting licenses to organize gambling at temporary venues. 

However, teams can only host wagering at temporary venues if their primary facility is under construction or if a new facility is being built. 

Sen. Lisa Otondo worries the bill grants favor to the Arizona Coyotes specifically because the team has had to move and build a new arena. 

“When the Coyotes applied for their event wagering license, they didn’t anticipate they would be moving. Seriously they had to know, but still jumped in line to get an event wagering license and now want us to change statute.”

Otondo added that Native American tribes were not consulted on the measure, even though it provides rules for them.

Greg Hahne started as a news intern at KJZZ in 2020 and returned as a field correspondent in 2021. He learned his love for radio by joining Arizona State University's Blaze Radio, where he worked on the production team.