Telephone Betting on Horse and Dog Racing Coming to Arizona

Residents of Arizona will soon be able to place bets via telephone thanks to a bill signed by Gov. Jan Brewer. The bill allows what is known as “advance deposit wagering” on horse and dog races.

The new legislation was sponsored by Sen. Steve Pierce, R-Prescott. It does not restrict gambling to races taking place in Arizona but rather enables punters to place bets on events across the country. The law is set to come into effect this summer but it may take the state Department of Racing a bit longer to come up with the necessary rules before bets can be placed.

The hope is that telephone betting will result in an increased amount of cash going to both track and animal owners and help the industry stay alive.

Michael Racy, a lobbyist for Tucson Greyhound Park, told senators that maintaining live racing has been “an increasing challenge over the last many years” and said that allowing phone betting was just “modernizing” state law.

In order to place telephone bets Arizonans will have to transfer money into a special account then use that account to place bets.