The Arizona Coyotes ‘ name, IP, and minor league affiliate in Arizona are not just maintained by Alex Meruelo. He’s also keeping the group’s sports betting license—at least for today.
In 2022, Arizona granted significant concessions to each of its top-tier professional sports teams, which they could then sell to state-based businesses. The Meruelo- owned Wolves partnered with Meruelo’s gaming company to build SaharaBets, which uses it to do business in the state.
A rep for the Arizona Department of Gaming, who declined to comment on whether that registration may change now that the group’s roster and sports operations have been sold to a new rights group in Utah, said that certificate is still active. If Meruelo have an argument for keeping it, he may have two claims: First, the Coyotes are still physically an NHL team, albeit an “inactive” one, and next, Meruelo also owns the AHL’s Roadrunners in Tucson, which might be enough by the letter of the state’s gaming laws.

Meruelo’s representative declined to comment.
The most recent move by the Coyotes was not a typical team sale. Meruelo now has the team’s IP, its records, and the AHL franchise, leaving Ryan and Ashley Smith to pay$ 1.2 billion for all of those Coyotes assets. Importantly, Meruelo also has the option to rejoin the NHL within the next five years if certain conditions are met, particularly in the team’s search for a new arena. The league’s official announcement called the Coyotes “inactive”.
Meruelo, who has openly stated his intention to restore the team within that five-year window, might argue that the Coyotes are still an NHL franchise despite its waning status. What happens if a team leaves the state, or ceases to exist, is not stated in the revised state gaming laws.
The law also defines professional sports teams as those that compete in “at the highest level league or organizational play for its respective sport.” Meruelo might argue that the Roadrunners are now the state’s highest level of professional hockey, and therefore eligible to keep the license if the Coyotes are no longer counted. A representative of the Phoenix Rising, a soccer team in the USL, who claimed that because MLS did n’t have a franchise there, raised this issue in public comments two years ago. The Rising do n’t have a license—the team reportedly determined the$ 100, 000 application fee was too steep without a guarantee that it would be eligible.
In Arizona, sports teams have relied on these licenses as the foundation for larger sponsorship deals, which frequently include upfront payments and a revenue share. The Arizona Cardinals, for example, partnered with BetMGM, the Arizona Diamondbacks with Caesars. The Phoenix Suns and Mercury, both owned by Mat Ishbia’s Player 15 Group, signed with FanDuel and Bally Bet. TPC Scottsdale ( DraftKings ) and Phoenix Speedway ( Penn Entertainment ) also received licenses that they sold to operators.

The Coyotes ‘ course of action was slightly altered. The NHL team partnered with Meruelo Gaming, a unit of Meruelo’s wider gambling portfolio, to launch SaharaBets. In essence, Meruelo’s NHL team granted his gaming company market access. The sportsbook operates only in Arizona, according to its website, and has less than 1 % market share, per March numbers from gaming research firm Eilers &amp, Krejcik.
That license’s market value has probably decreased in the last two years. There are 20 total Arizona licenses, and the sports betting scene is n’t as crowded as it was in 2022. Few sportsbooks have a large revenue share, and almost all of them already have access to Arizona. The upfront cost for the deals has also decreased as a result of the consolidation.
” Market access in Arizona is probably worth more in the single millions, as opposed to the fives of millions or tens of millions”, Chris Grove, partner emeritus at Eilers &amp, Krejcik and co- founding partner of Acies Investments, said in an interview.
However, SaharaBets and Meruelo, the owners of the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno and the Sahara hotel and casino in Las Vegas, each have their own geographic advantages. Arizona is the only state in the state that has legal sports betting close to the southern border of Nevada, and many people there visit Las Vegas for gambling or entertainment purposes. That might enable Meruelo to provide specific rewards opportunities to those users.
” Anything]Meruelo] can do to improve incremental visitation and consumer loyalty from a feeder market like Arizona is probably meaningful”, Grove said.
In addition to the$ 100, 000 application fee, the Arizona law stipulates an initial$ 750, 000 license cost and a$ 150, 000 annual fee. The law authorized the holding of 17 licenses, totaling 20 for sports teams and local Native American tribes. The state gaming agency made the sale of the other three earlier this year.
The Roadrunners averaged about 4, 000 fans per game this season. Sportico does n’t do valuations of AHL franchises, but for reference, the Chicago Blackhawks paid$ 11.8 million for their affiliate in 2021, and the minimum value for teams right now is believed to be around$ 15 million. On the other end of the spectrum, the Henderson Silver Knights, the affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights, generated roughly$ 11 million in revenue for the 2022- 23 season, with two- thirds of the total from tickets.
With assistance from Kurt Badenhausen, Barry Bloom and Scott Soshnick.