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Arkansas Mobile Sports Betting News
In 2019, Arkansas became the ninth state that legalized a form of sports betting.
This came just over a year after the United States Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA). The SCOTUS ruled that violated the country’s Tenth Amendment.
With that, every U.S. state now had the freedom to launch legalized sports betting if they so desired.
Legalized sports betting in Arkansas began at the iconic Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, which is located in Hot Springs. Initially, residents of Arkansas were initially barred from being able to bet on any of the state’s college teams.
But earlier this year, the Joint Budget Committee gave the thumbs up on a bill that will legalize mobile sports betting in Arkansas — thus paving the way for customers in the state to place bets on its college teams.
In late April, the Southland Casino in West Memphis officially launched the Betly Arkansas mobile sportsbook for iPhone users.
Customers in Arkansas are still awaiting the launch of the Saracen app from the Saracen Casino Resort that is located in Pine Bluff. Though there’s no firm timeline on when it will launch, KARK heard from a manager at the resort that the sports betting app is in “the final stage of” development.
On top of the Saracen app, other betting options like Caesars Sportsbook are set for launch in Arkansas in the not-so-distant future. Caesars frequently offers risk-free bets to new customers, and residents of Arkansas will be able to bet on multiple sports — including baseball, basketball, football, golf, hockey and soccer.
Sports Betting Is Picking Up In Arkansas
Arkansas is one of the states that lacks a single “big four” North American professional sports franchise (NHL, MLB, NBA and NFL). But the horse racing industry and college sports are highly popular in Arkansas.
Per the previous report from KARK, the state of Arkansas garnered $1.2 million in tax revenue from sports betting last year. This was more than double the $583,000 the state made for the year 2020.
These are obviously encouraging numbers considering a) the limited betting options in the state b) the lack of professional sports teams in Arkansas.
But with more sportsbooks and apps launching, and with fans hopefully able to bet on the inner-state college teams in 2022, the state can expect a significant increase in tax revenue from legalized sports betting.
Razorbacks Would Be A Huge Factor In Arkansas Sports Betting
It’ll be interesting to see when legalized sports betting on college teams launches in Arkansas.
The season opener for the Razorbacks’ 2022 football season is four months away. They’ll welcome the 2021 surprise Cincinnati Bearcats on Sept. 3 (time to be announced).
Expectations are once again high for the Razorbacks following a successful 9-4 season. The Razorbacks defeated Penn State 24-10 in the Outback Bowl to put on a cherry on top of a magnificent 2021 campaign. Of course, it’ll be hard to replace star receiver Treylon Burks as he moves into the chapter of his professional football career.
The aforementioned season opener is the first of a five-game home stretch for the Razorbacks. They’ll then host South Carolina (Sept. 10), Missouri State (Sept. 17), Texas A&M (Sept. 24) and the national championship runner-ups Alabama (Oct. 1).
At DraftKings, the Razorbacks have long +10000 betting odds of winning the national championship. They have even lower odds over at the FanDuel sportsbook (+15000). With odds of +200 at both sportsbooks, Alabama is the betting favorite to win it all at DraftKings and FanDuel.
The football team isn’t the only college squad in Arizona with high expectations, of course. The women’s basketball team went 18-13 last season and qualified for the Spokane Regional, though they ultimately fell to Utah 92-69.
The men’s basketball team went 25-8 in the regular season and advanced all the way to the Elite Eight, before falling to the annual powerhouse Duke 78-69. It was a heartbreaking end for a team that fell to Baylor in the Elite Eight of the 2021 tournament, but the Razorbacks once again have their fans optimistic for the season ahead.
Simply put, the Razorbacks’ three strong sports programs here would undoubtedly be huge factors in the sports betting industry when Arkansas legalizes betting in college games.
