In 2024, Arkansas sports betting is expected to reach $500 million

Little Rock, Arkansas – Arkansas’s sports betting industry is expected to generate over $500 million in revenue this year.

That represents an increase over the $404 million it had in 2023.

“Arkansans are averaging about $1.55 million a day on sports,” said Scott Hardin, the Racing Commission Spokesperson.

The three casino apps in our state account for that average.

Hardin outlined how the rise in sports wagers from 400 million to at least 500 million can be attributed to mobile betting.

According to Hardin, taxes collected by Arkansas in 2023 totaled approximately $5 million, which has multiple benefits for the state.

“The state gets a healthy portion of it. The city and county that are home to these casinos get a significant portion of that. And then lastly, there’s a horse racing fund on the live purse. So the purses at Oaklawn actually increased as a result of the state revenue,” he explained.

Even though mobile betting has been successful, Hardin stressed that the sector is highly regulated.

“We want to be sure Arkansans understand the only way to place a legal sports wager in Arkansas, is at one of the state’s casinos or through their apps. Any other option is not legal,” he described.

That similar message was reiterated by Carlton Saffa of Saracen Casino, who stated that’s one of the reasons Saracen intends to introduce a “I-gaming” app and deliver casino games directly to your phone through legal means.

“We believe that allowing licensed, regulated casinos to engage in the same business will not really change anything, there will still be online gaming occurring, but the state will generate revenue,” Saffa explained.

Saracen’s second-largest revenue stream comes from sports betting, and Saffa stated he intends to eventually bring casino games to smartphones.

“All that we would ask would be for the other properties that we offer slots and other forms of table games to be considered as an alternative to the illegal offshore sports books and casino operators that unfortunately are swarming our state,” he said.

The racing commission has the last say over whether or not to permit “I-gaming,” and according to Saffa, Saracen is currently patiently waiting for the commission to be ready to have that discussion.