Arkansas opens door to mobile sports betting
Natural State regulator approves controversial 51% profit-sharing requirement despite opposition from operators
Representatives from the Arkansas Racing Commission (ARC) have voted to expand the options for sports betting to include online and mobile sportsbooks for the first time.
After more than an hour’s discussion, representatives from the ARC greenlit amendments to existing state statutes to include online operators in a meeting which was attended by representatives from both sides of the debate.
A controversial addition to the rules requiring that 51% of all sports betting revenue stay in the state was approved by ARC members despite opposition from operators including DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM.
FanDuel’s director of government affairs, Andrew Winchell, argued that the profit-sharing mechanism was “unprecedented,” suggesting the ARC follows the lead of states including Michigan, Indiana, and Pennsylvania where operators partnering with in-state firms negotiate their own profit-sharing deals.
The profit-sharing arrangement mirrors the controversial 51% tax rate due to be paid in New York, following the Empire State’s own journey to mobile sports betting legalisation, which began last year.
In comments reported by local media, Capital Advisors Group, which represented the out-of-state operators, suggested the impasse with local casino operators was not an “us-versus-them” issue.
“We view it as an opportunity to bring into a marketplace, through the casinos, revenue and a player who’s generally being unregulated and un-utilized now. And untaxed,” the spokesperson added.
The new rules allow Arkansas’s three casinos to partner with up to two sportsbook operators, with the state’s fourth casino currently still in development.
In the meeting, representatives from DraftKings and BetMGM had requested to be able to operate more than four online sports betting skins, however ARC members limited final rules to just two skins per retail location following lobbying by local casino operators.
Under the new rules, remote registrations are allowed, with wagering on professional, college, and amateur sports permitted in the Natural State. There is also no mandate by the state to use official league data in respect of sports betting.
Full details of the amendments can be accessed here.
Arkansas casinos have offered sports betting in retail sportsbooks since 2019.
Representatives from the Saracen Casino Resort suggested the state’s casino operators could get going on online and mobile sports betting without the need for involving national operators.
“We take millions of dollars in on-premises bets already,” the spokesperson said.
“It’s being done on premises now and it’s working. Are the numbers huge? No. They’re never huge when it’s on-premises only.
“As an Arkansan, I’m tired of hearing that we can’t do it. That it takes someone from Boston who knows what they’re doing. We can do it,” the spokesperson added.
The rules will now need to be approved by Arkansas legislators, however the ARC has suggested mobile sports betting could be launched in early 2022.