Arizona Coyotes seek gambling law change for ASU arena
(KYMA, KECY/ AP News) - The Arizona Coyotes are seeking a change in the new state law that legalizes sports betting to allow them to keep running their mobile sports gambling operation.
The NHL ownership is asking for this upon their move from Glendale to Arizona State University’s hockey arena next season.
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.
But the Arizona Indian Gaming Association and multiple Native American tribes oppose the last-minute measure, arguing that the 2021 law that legalized sports betting was part of a complex deal they negotiated with Governor Doug Ducey that updated the tribal gaming compact.
The Coyotes plan to use the university’s arena for three years while the teams develops a new $1.7 billion project including restaurants, shops and apartments and a new hockey arena on a 40-acre site in Tempe.
