Tag: NHL

Arizona Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo has given up hanging onto what remains of his NHL team, and will dissolve the team. Muruelo had been planning to build a new Phoenix-area arena and the NHL gave him five years to recreate his team.

But days after a land deal fell through, Meruelo decided to move on, PHNX Sports reported Tuesday (25 June). And with that decision, it seems clear that SaharaBets will also exit Arizona. The digital sports betting platform is tethered to the franchise, as required by Arizona law. It launched in January 2022.

In April Meruelo sold the players and game operations to a Utah-based group. He retains the rights to the name, team IP, records and the AHL (American Hockey League) Roadrunners affiliate franchise. At that time, the NHL classified the Coyotes as an “inactive” team. Meruelo now says he will unwind team operations within 30 days.

More on Meruelo and his NHL ownership demise!
NHL Faces a Reset After Meruelo’s Missteps and Coyotes Collapse ⁦⁦@Arizo..

Salt Lake City welcomed the NHL team that was formerly the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday (24 April) night. When the team boarded a plane headed north, it would seem that it had vacated an event wagering licence in Arizona. But SaharaBets is still live and the situation might not be as clear as it appears.

The Arizona Department of Gaming told iGB via email that neither the team nor SaharaBets had been in contact. The NHL is calling the Coyotes franchise “inactive” and the sale to a Utah-based group is a bit unusual, as current owner Alex Meruelo retained rights to the name, team IP, records and the AHL Roadrunners affiliate franchise.

It appears that unless the Coyotes or SaharaBets makes formal contact with ADOG, the site will remain live. In this situation, ADOG doesn’t appear to have a way to take action. Rather, the state legislature could clarify language saying that a team must be active to have an Arizona event wagering licence.

“The department is aware of the recent reports ..