The Arizona Coyotes hockey team want a new state sports betting law changed to allow them to keep running their mobile sports gambling operation when the team moves from Glendale to Arizona State University’s hockey arena next season.
The Arizona Indian Gaming Association and multiple Native American tribes oppose the last-minute measure which was approved Tuesday by the Arizona Senate’s appropriations committee.
They argue the 2021 law that legalized sports betting was part of a complex deal they negotiated with Gov. Doug Ducey to update the tribal gaming compact.
The Coyotes say the change is needed because ASU’s arena only holds 5,000 people, and the law that allowed professional sports team to run retail sports books and mobile gambling operations requires facilities to seat at least 10,000. T
he Coyotes plan to use the university’s arena for three years while the teams develops a new $1.7 billion project in Tempe.