Meruelo Gaming, an affiliate of the Sahara Las Vegas and Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada, has teamed-up with the Arizona Coyotes for the launch of SaharaBets.
The alliance with the National Hockey League franchise as official sports betting partner comes ahead of the debut of the state’s latest digital wagering platform, which is scheduled to become available for patrons within the region from Wednesday 12 January.
“SaharaBets brings the excitement and reputation of the iconic Sahara Las Vegas to sports fans here in Arizona,” said Andrew Patterson, SaharaBets president.
“As the sports betting landscape continues to evolve in the Valley, SaharaBets looks forward to collaborating with the Coyotes organization to engage and interact with sports fans in fun and unique ways.”
The Arizona Coyotes, which is majority owned by chair Alex Meruelo, who is also the founder of the Meruelo Group, plies its trade in the central division of the western conference.
“The Coyotes are dedicated to providing innovative and entertaining experiences for our great fans,” noted Coyotes president and CEO Xavier Gutierrez.
“Our partnership with SaharaBets will offer next-level gaming experiences for fans who want to unleash their competitive spirit.”
This follows a slew of other sporting collaborations inked across Arizona, which has previously seen BetMGM team-up with the Arizona Cardinals with plans to open a retail sportsbooks at the State Farm Stadium.
Caesars linked-up Major League Baseball side the Arizona Diamondbacks to open a sports betting outlet at Chase Field, DraftKings expanded its partnership with the PGA Tour to debut and entity at TPC Scottsdale, and Bally’s struck a 15-year alliance with the Phoenix Mercury WNBA side.
Earlier this week it was reported that Arizona sportsbooks got underway at a quicker pace than any other state in the history of legal US sports betting, after accepting $291.2m in wagers in September, surpassing the former record of $131.4m in a market’s first calendar month that was set by Tennessee in November 2020.
In all, the state’s sportsbooks generated $32.3m in gross gaming revenue from September 9-30, 2021, which is also the most for a state in its first month of legal sports betting.
