Saracen Casino Urges Changes in Arkansas Law on Online Gambling

An Arkansas casino aims to duplicate its gaming opportunities by submitting an official petition to state regulators.

Marketing manager at Saracen Casino Resort, Carlton Saffa, has submitted to state Racing Commission chairman Alex Lieblong the request for reform. At the moment, an Arkansas casino is permitted to provide online sports betting, but alternative games like online slots, blackjack and craps have to be performed in the same environment.

The current state of things suggests that decision is in hands of state Racing Commission. If the authority endorses the request, it’d mean that all casinos in Arkansas could offer enhanced gaming offer across the state. Saffa added that local venues are capable of adding online poker and slots, but he urges the addition of other permitted games.

Reasoning Behind the Recent Proposal

There are several reasons for submitting the request to Racing Commission in Arkansas and they perfectly align with current climate in the state. One of the arguments for this proposal is the fight with offshore casinos that promote unlawful gaming.

According to Saffa’s words, changing Rule 5 by adding new games would ensure a legitimate replacement for those already putting their products in front of Arkansas users regardless of standards of their operation and regardless of minors placing wagers.

What About Financial Repercussions

If the Racing Commission approves the submission, it could positively influence the budget of the state. Saracen Casino Resort’s manager believes that green light will result in more than $20 million flowing to Arkansas pockets, with $12 million in other gaming tax revenue. However, that’s not everything as around $3.7 million will be available for backing the Oaklawn Jockey Club and additional $5.6 for the books across Pine Bluff and Jefferson County.

Finally, he concludes that all these figures are only one year estimate, presenting the possible outcome for the upcoming 12 months.

In conclusion of Saffa’s letter, it is said that online gaming is going to easily detect players with problem gambling which won’t have any negative effects on the number of customers going to land-based venues. In independent report to Gambling.com, Saffa mentioned his appearance before the racing commission on May 6.

However, Department of Finance and Administration hasn’t disclosed the agenda of the meeting yet so it is still to be seen what problems will be discussed next week.

Recent Figures in the State

Arkansas is marking promising figures this year according to Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Last month saw the state collecting $50.03 million from sports wagers, which was about $13 million more than the amount bet in March 2023.

At the same time, $3.9 million was bet at casinos while the remaining $46 million was wagered through casino apps. That resulted in $510,000 tax revenue for the state.

Source:

“Saracen Casino requests change in Arkansas law to allow online gambling”, kark.com, April 23, 2024.