Betting on professional sports began around Arizona on Thursday, and the Arizona Diamondbacks were the first franchise to celebrate the move and open a sportsbook.

The Major League Baseball team is partnering with Caesars Entertainment Inc., which made a $20,000 donation to the team’s charitable foundation.

At a ceremony on Thursday, Emmy-nominated actor-comedian JB Smoove, who stars as “Caesar” in the brand’s nationwide advertising campaign, Caesars Sportsbook Chief Trends Officer and Brand Ambassador Trey Wingo, Arizona Diamondbacks legend Luis Gonzalez and team CEO and President Derrick Hall, along with state dignitaries placed the ceremonial first bets for charity at Caesars Sportsbook at Chase Field, home of the D-backs.

The event featured festivities for attending fans, food and beverage, and sports betting 101-style education around responsible gaming before sports bets were placed for the first time at a temporary retail sportsbook at the Chase Field box office ticket windows.

“Today’s event was a culmination of what we’ve been excited about for quite some time, bringing legal sports betting to the great sports fans in Arizona,” said Chris Holdren, co-president of Caesars Digital.

Caesars has operated in Arizona for more than 25 years, and the company is eager to bring its new technology to users, Holdren said in a press release.

“We take pride in our brand-new Caesars Sportsbook app being online for day one of sports betting here and we’re ecstatic to offer Arizonans a sports betting experience that can’t be matched,” he said.

Caesars’ partnership with the D-backs includes plans to build a two-story sportsbook and sports bar at Chase Field. Opening in early 2022, the venue will become a hospitality and entertainment destination.

In the interim, sports fans can continue to place in-person bets at five walk-up betting kiosks that will be installed on the north side of the plaza.

In addition to in-person bets accepted at Chase Field, the new Caesars Sportsbook app is available for download and use by Arizona customers. The app integrates mobile sports betting with Caesars’ loyalty program, Caesars Rewards, where every bet rewards the bettor with Tier Credits and Reward Credits that can be used to unlock experiences within the Caesars portfolio of properties and partnerships.

Grand Canyon State bettors can continue to stack two offers for a first bet experience worthy of an emperor:

• Now through Sept. 30 every Arizona bettor gets a $5,000 risk-free bet.

• Add on an NFL jersey when you bet $100 on the NFL.