The Arkansas Racing Commission is set to meet at 11 am on Thursday, December 30th to make a decision regarding the adoption of a rule governing sports betting on mobile devices.
Although casinos already offer sports betting at retail sportsbooks, this new rule will allow then to accept online wagers from smartphones and other mobile devices.
However, while there is much support for the new rule, it’s not quite a foregone conclusion as there is some opposition to a condition demanding that at least 51% of a sports betting operator’s profits remain in Arkansas. This means that national operators such as DraftKings and FanDuel would need to allow partnering casinos a minimum profit share of 51%, a huge increase on the typical 5 to 15% usually offered in casino partnership deals with US sports betting apps.
The Racing Commission requested comments from the public relating to the new rule and the overwhelming majority of comments have been from those who are opposed to any form of additional gambling expansion. The seemingly negative feedback from the public along with the refusal of major bookmakers to strike a 51% profit sharing deal with casinos means that discussions on the adoption of the rule could take some time.
All three state casino operators are firmly behind the new rule.
An experienced iGaming commentator and analyst based in New York City - Jenny reports on regulation and gambling industry news and events.