SportsBettingInArkansas.com

Arkansas Mobile Sports Betting Bill Dies

Daniel Borjas — Tue, 07 May 2019 14:08:01 +0000

AR SB 669 would have legalized online and mobile sports betting.
The bill had provisions completely unrelated to mobile sports wagering.
Arkansas legalized retail sportsbooks back in November of 2018.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A sports betting bill that would have authorized online and mobile wagering in Arkansas has lie sine die in the Senate, meaning it will never be discussed again.

Heavy Taxes And Fees

AR SB 669 was introduced on April 1 and it had a number of different provisions. The biggest reasons why this bill ultimately died was the topic of integrity fees and taxation.

Integrity fees were designed by the league to help ensure that sportsbooks would not rig number or influence the outcomes of games. What it actually does is give sports leagues like the NCAA or NFL royalty fee. Every single state that has legalized sports betting has refused to give in to the pressure and add an integrity fee. The fees would seriously undercut the potential profits for sportsbooks.

Arkansas lawmakers saw it differently. They decided that this mobile sports betting bill needed to include an integrity fee for the leagues. Although the fee is one percent of all sports betting revenue in the state, that would be around 20 or so percent of a single sportsbook’s profits. This would have been on top of the 12.5 percent tax on retail sportsbooks and the 13.5 percent tax on mobile wagering.

On top of that, the leagues would have had the power to shut down bets on certain events. The NFL could have had the power to prevent any bets being placed on the Super Bowl in Arkansas. This would have also resulted in major losses for sportsbooks.

Provisions Not Normally Seen

Some of the provisions that it included were it would ban bets on a number of events. It would have banned bets on the Special Olympics, the American Kennel Club dog shows, and WWE events.

None of these events were restricted when sports betting in Arkansas was originally legalized back in November. This was likely not needed because sportsbooks do not normally carry action on these events and it creating more restrictions would have not been financially good for potential sportsbooks.

AR SB 669 fell way off track from what it was originally supposed to do. The title of the bill states that the bill was supposed to allow electronic wagering on athletic events. The provisions provided on the bill would have squeezed every single penny out of sportsbooks, even with mobile wagering. For now, Arkansas will only have retail sportsbooks once they eventually open for business.

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BetLucky Sportsbook In Arkansas Now Close To Launch

Daniel Borjas — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 18:08:29 +0000

outhland Gaming & Racing Would Become First Ever Legal Arkansas Sportsbook
Southland Gaming & Racing Is Located Only 13 Minutes Outside Of Memphis, TN

WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. – It may not be much longer until sports betting in Arkansas goes live. Southland Gaming & Racing has already begun to promote BetLucky within it’s facility, stating that the sportsbook is “Coming Soon”.

However, this is the only indication of a timeline so far. The company has not listed any news on the matter through their website or through an official press release.

The West Memphis racino has cleared most hurdles standing in the way of introducing sports wagering at their facility.

Last November, voters in Arkansas approved this gambling expansion to be held in the state’s two existing racinos and at two other locations that have yet to be built. On top of that, last month the Arkansas Racing Commission approved the official rules and regulations over the activity.

The wait is more or less dependent on the speed of which the company is able to roll out the additional amenity within the racino. Southland Gaming & Racing is owned by Delaware North, the same company which owns two racinos in WV along with the BetLucky mobile sports betting app.

Last week, Delaware North suspended all sports betting operations for it’s three WV sportsbooks due to a contract dispute with Miomni, the company that powers their sports betting technology.

There is no clear indication of whether or not this dispute will affect the rollout of BetLucky at Southland Gaming, but given the fact that they have already begun to advertise the sportsbook shows that it may not.

What this Means For Sports Betting in Arkansas And Tennessee

If Southland Gaming & Racing is able to start accepting sports bets soon, they will be the first venue in Arkansas to do so.

The state of AK has imposed a licensing fee of no more than $250,000 dollars and a tax rate for casino revenue will be set at 13 percent for the first $150 million dollars and 20 percent once it exceeds that.

If it becomes the first and only sportsbook in Arkansas it will see many AR residents travel there to place their wagers, and given the fact that the racino is only 13 minutes outside of Memphis, Tennessee much of that revenue is expected to come from out of state visitors as well.

This could potentially mean a boost in tax revenue from sports betting in Arkansas and a loss in potential revenue for the state of Tennessee.

Tennessee legislators have introduced several bills in both the House and the Senate to legalize gambling on sports in some form or another. Although, none of the bills have been signed into law quite yet.

Once this Arkansas sportsbook opens its doors, it may create more of a sense of urgency for Tennessee lawmakers to enact one of these proposed pieces of legislation.

The post BetLucky Sportsbook In Arkansas Now Close To Launch first appeared on SportsBettingInArkansas.com.

Arkansas Conflicted Over Sports Gambling

Daniel Borjas — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 18:17:42 +0000

RUSSELVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas residents are having conflicting ideas on sports betting rules for the state. Back in November, an overpowering 54% of voters voted yes for sports gambling on Amendment 100. would give the state four casinos and would offer sports betting at the facilities as well.

The Arkansas Racing Commission will oversee the sports betting casinos. After receiving 148 written comments, only 20 of those comments directed to the commission wanted a casino in the state.

“Based on the overall level of interest throughout this process, we anticipated a significant amount of public comments, which has certainly been the case,” said Scott Hardin, spokesman for the State Department of Finance and Administration.

Pope County specifically requires that casino proposals receive a letter of support from either the county judge or the Quorum court. Residents in the county shunned Amendment 100 back November and required extra hoops for lawmakers to jump through in order to allow sports gambling within their county. The majority of Pope residents do not like the idea of a proposed casino in their area.

What The Colleges Say About Sports Gambling

While Pope County has its own dilemmas to work through regarding sports gambling, the State of Arkansas itself has its own issues as well. Sports betting legality in Arkansas will also have an effect on the youth in the area, more specifically the college students.

Four Athletic directors from local Universities also want changes to the proposed sports betting rules laid down by the Arkansas Racing Commission and sent them a letter detailing it. The four are: Hunter Yurachek of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; Terry Mohajir of Arkansas State University; Chasse Conque of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock; and Melvin Hines of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

“No one can deny the tremendous financial and reputational harm that a sports betting scandal would cause to our state universities and student-athletes, along with millions of fans, alumni and donors who support them,” said the letter.

“The loss of confidence in the integrity of our events (and the State’s gaming licensees) would be irreparable. Given such risks, we believe the Commission’s regulations must reflect the important role that our colleges, universities, and their sports governing bodies play in any lawful sports wagering framework.”

Among the various rule suggestions in the letter, the directors also included one requiring the casino operator and the commission to work with each other in illegal gambling investigations held by the colleges and universities.

The state will have legal sports betting in Arkansas coming soon in their future, but they’ll have to deal with the ripple effects of legalization in their state in the process.growing market.

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