Arkansas gaming commissioners gives go-ahead to 17 new sports betting markets

The Arkansas State Racing Commission on Thursday gave the go-head to 17 new markets for sports betting. The approval will now enable the state's casinos to begin accepting wagers on these sports, many of them already approved in other states, ranging from lacrosse to cornhole.

A panel with no dissenters accepted the list of new markets, which was requested by casino representatives and Jennifer Rushin, tax division manager for the casino gaming section at the state's Department of Finance and Administration.

As per a report by NWA online, the commissioners agreed that casinos will have to receive Rushin's approval before adding specific leagues within the newly approved markets to their offerings.

More betting options

Per the report, the new markets will supplement 15 sports markets already authorized for betting. Scott Hardin, the spokesperson for the Department of Finance and Administration, noted that these new options include bare-knuckle fighting, bowling, bowl, cornhole, disc, field hockey, floorball, futsal, lacrosse, National Hot Rod Association drag racing, pool, world sailing, snooker, table tennis, volleyball, beach volleyball, and water polo.

Carlton Saffa, chief marketing officer for Saracen Casino Resort, told commissioners the integrity of the data for each market is sound. He said: "Everything that we're looking at is something that has been approved in another state. In most instances, most states. In some instances as many as 30 states.”

The casinos will also work with Rushin to review the specific integrity of the leagues within each of the markets. "For example, we're asking for bowling to be an approved sport and that we work with Jennifer to determine whether or not there's a southern bowling league and a Canadian bowling league and a Chilean bowling league," Saffa noted.

Southland Casino Racing, Arkansas

Arkansas houses three casinos including Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff; Southland Casino Racing in West Memphis and Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Hot Springs.

Saffa said that he hoped representatives from all three casinos could meet again "soon" to expand the state's catalog of sports markets and "provide Arkansas consumers with the same options for wagering that they would have in other states." 

The executive noted that the casinos operating in neighboring states, including Tennessee and Louisiana, have "robust" catalogs. Saffa also remarked that casinos could choose not to offer all the new sports markets approved by the commission.

Only 17 out of 56 sports markets were approved 

The casino representatives had initially suggested 56 markets for expansion, out of which only 17 were approved. Rushin said: "Out of the 56 that we looked at, we came up with these 17. The caveat is that they would continue to look at the book to see what else they would add." The sports markets that did not get approval include professional tag, slap fighting, and other obscure sports. 

Arkansans voted to allow retail sports betting in 2018, a time at which each casino presented a book of offerings for approval. Mobile sports betting was authorized by the state last year, with a single catalog of offerings rather than separate books for each casino, according to Rushin.

The total handle from sports wagers in 2022 was $186 million, out of which $122 million was wagered through mobile apps. In 2023, the daily sports wagers through the state's casinos average over $1.04 million. This includes $873,600 wagered daily via mobile apps and $171,690 wagered on-site at casino properties.

The state tax revenue from sports betting has an average of $417,500 per month in 2023. The casino revenue is taxed at the same rate whether the revenue is from sports betting, blackjack, or slots. According to Hardin, the casinos pay 13% in taxes on all revenue under $150 million for the year. When a casino passes $150 million in revenue for the year, the tax rate moves to 20% for all revenue above $150 million.