Arkansas Legislators Refuse to Hear iGaming Legislation

House Bill 1861, a measure that would legalize online casino gambling in Arkansas, has “no chance” of passing, according to a powerful lawmaker. Those who supported the bill will have to wait until next year to find out if the political climate is more welcoming.

Opposition Rules

Last year, Carlton Saffa, Saracen Casino’s chief marketing officer, shared his vision of iGaming in Arkansas, saying, “It would exactly mirror what we did with sports betting. With sports betting, we said, ‘Let’s go from the four walls of the casino to the four borders of Arkansas.’”

State Senator Bryan King, a proponent of online casino gaming and sponsor of Joint Resolution 8, stated, “We desperately need the revenue to reduce our high crime rate and keep families and communities safe.”

King’s bill is intended to “amend Arkansas 32 Constitution, Amendment 100, concerning casino gaming.” Unfortunately for King and his iGaming supporters, it appears as though iGaming legislation will gain no traction this session.

House Bill 1861 is another iGaming measure sponsored by Rep. Matt Duffield and Sen. Dave Wallace and co-sponsored by Republican Senate President Pro Tem Bart Hester along with a smattering of Democrats. Despite the bipartisan nature of the bill, the powers that be will have none of it, and the bill remains stuck in the House Judiciary Committee.

Opponents like Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Attorney General Tim Griffin have been staunch opponents of online casino gambling despite the presence of retail and mobile sports betting in the state. Only three brick-and-mortar sportsbooks operate in Arkansas: Oaklawn Sportsbook, Southland Casino Sportsbook, and Saracen Casino Resort Sportsbook.

Those establishments also have a mobile presence, but due to the onerous 51% split mandated by the state’s sports betting bill, along with a 20% tax on revenues, major sportsbooks like FanDuel, DraftKings and Caesars have decided not to partner with those entities.

A Case to Be Made for iGaming

Online casino gambling is legal in only seven states, including New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Yet, based on the revenue reports, iGaming revenues tower above mobile sports betting, but lawmakers have been reluctant to embrace this digital cash cow due to concerns regarding addictive gambling behaviors and the deleterious effects it may have on land-based casinos.

Vena Schexnayder, executive director with the nonprofit Arkansas Problem Gambling Council, spoke about the offshore market available to Arkansas residents, which the American Gaming Association calls “gaming in the gray.”

“They’re not quite illegal on where they’re at, per se, in the Isle of Man or offshore, far away from the U.S. borders and territories,” Schexnayder said. “So, they’re not registered and not paying taxes and not following any regulations, but they do have authorization to have bandwidth to be able to be played by Arkansans across the state.”

Carlton Saffa of Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff said it only makes sense to bring the tax revenue to the state, as people are already on their mobile devices and PCs playing virtual slots and casino table games with offshore gaming platforms.

“We’re in a highly regulated space that we recognize can cause harm, so we have an obligation to the citizens of Arkansas to best manage this risk, and the risk is best managed by making sure legitimate licensed actors are the only ones doing it,” he said. Allowing “legitimate operators” to offer online gaming at the expense of offshore casinos “will generate millions in revenue,” he added.