With a simple voice vote, legal mobile sports betting in Arkansas at last became a reality. Mobile betting sites and betting apps will be able to accept wagers in Arkansas after a 10-day filing period, which will allow mobile betting to begin in the state before the NCAA March Madness tournament opens on March 15. Bookies.com looked at the big news and what is to come for the Arkansas betting marketplace.
Key Takeaways:
- The 10-day filing period, that Arkansas needs to wait through, is actually scheduled to expire prior to the start of the Men’s SEC Tournament on March 9 – allowing those Arkansas Razorbacks fans to bet on their team
- Mobile betting was approved with a regulation which mandates that 51% of sports betting revenues must stay with the in-state casinos, a measure that national online sportsbook operators lobbied against.
- Arkansas casinos (3 within state currently) would keep 51% of revenue – a stark contrast with rules in other states that have legalized sports betting, which typically keep less than 15%
- Arkansas generated $69 million in combined casino and sports betting revenue for fiscal year 2020-21, according to the state Department of Finance and Administration.
