Arizona Gaming at a Glance
Sweeping changes to the state’s gambling laws have made Arizona a paradise for fans of chance.
New Table Games
Ratification of the Tribal-State Gaming Compact in 2021 expanded the suite of legal table games in Arizona to include these Vegas classics and cult favorites.
• Roulette: The original wheel of fortune, originally devised in 18th-century France.
• Craps: Fans maintain that it offers the most favorable odds to bettors of all Vegas-style table games.
• Mini-baccarat: Favored by French nobility and British secret agents, it’s a card game that plays like a simplified blackjack.
• Pai Gow: Popularized in China and played with special dominos, the game is generally offered as pai gow poker in Arizona.
Sports Betting
Concurrently in 2021, then-Governor Doug Ducey signed into law HB2772, which paved the way for both retail and online sports betting in the state. Beat the spread with these sports-bet strategies.
• Zig-Zag Theory: Advocates wagering on a team that just lost its previous game, as such teams are statistically likely (>50 percent) to rebound and win the following one.
• Chasing Steam: Large bets sometimes cause a seismic shift in the betting line. Some bettors attempt to join the action before the shift peaks, i.e. “chasing” the hot bet.
• Hitting the “Middle”: Laying two opposing bets on the same event (e.g. the over/under score of a NFL) game and winning both, by taking advantage of shifting point spreads.
• Line shopping: The act of perusing different sportsbooks to compare point spreads and find the most advantageous games to bet on.
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