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The 29th-largest state in America, admitted to the United States in 1836 (seceded in 1861 and returned to the Union in 1868), is located in the southern region bordering Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the south-west, and Oklahoma to the west.
Once known for its large-scale plantation agriculture, Arkansas today has a diverse economy with a state gross product of $128.08 billion in 2018, which amounts to 0.9% of the U.S. overall GDP. The key income verticals in the state include agriculture (cotton, soybeans, rice, poultry, eggs), food processing, fabricated metal products, electric equipment manufacturing, paper production, natural gas mining, and tourism.
Since November 6, 2018, following a state referendum, land-based casinos and sports betting are legalized while interactive gambling remains off-limits in the Natural State.
Legal Framework
Known as Issue 4, the constitutional amendment authorizing gambling was approved by 54.10% of Arkansas voters on Election Day 2018.
It was the sixth attempt to introduce games of luck and skill in the state. In 1984, 1996, and 2000 Arkansans rejected initiatives to amend the state Constitution, while in 2012 and 2016 amendments were rejected by the Arkansas Supreme Court.
Issue 4 allowed for four casinos to conduct gambling and sports wagering operations in four counties: Crittenden, Garland, Pope, and Jefferson.
In February 2019, the Racing Commission — state regulatory body in charge of licensing and supervision of casinos’ operations — approved more than 300 pages of regulations on sports betting and brick and mortar gaming operations.
The Racing Commission provisions also introduced the possibility for licensees to offer interactive poker, while “language pertaining to the operation of interactive sports betting suggests this could be permitted also,” though both initiatives remain to be clarified at later date.
The gambling age limits vary between 18 (pari-mutuel wagering) and 21 years of age (slots, poker).
Taxation on gambling winnings is 3% flat, while operators are taxed incrementally — 13% on the first $150 million of gross win and 20% above $150 million.
Land-Based Casino Licenses
As of October 2019, three brick and mortar establishments operate in Arkansas: Southland Racing in Crittenden County, Oaklawn Jockey Club in Garland County, and Saracen Casino Annex in Jefferson County.
Southland and Oaklawn are, in effect, long-standing racetracks with horse/dog races and pari-mutuel betting. Both operators launched casino operations on April 1, offering blackjack, poker, roulette, slots, and other table games to patrons.
In July, Oaklawn also kicked-off sports betting operations and became the first operator in Arkansas to provide retail wagering services to the major sports events.
In October, the Saracen launched casino and sports betting operations (in partnership with IGT). The venue has 300 slot machines and is the preview of the full-blown casino resort to be opened by the end of 2020.
Pope County, which is to host the fourth licensee, will most likely have to wait for a while because conservative residents simply don’t want casinos in their county — 60.58% of them voted against gambling legalization in November’s referendum — but the state has the upper hand. (The fact that 55% of collected tax goes to the state general revenue fund and only 8% to the county in which the casino is located doesn’t help the case either.)
Players’ Protection
A safe approach and prevention/treatment of gambling disorders might be the most important beneficiary of legalization in the Natural State.
Issue 4 requires “the Arkansas Racing Commission to provide at least $200,000 each year for compulsive gambling disorder treatment and compulsive gambling disorder education programs.” Furthermore, the Commission is obliged to coordinate the implementation of programs with the Department of Human Services.
This is a breakthrough considering that in 2016 Arkansas was one of only six states that did not have dedicated funding for gambling disorders.
According to the 2016 Survey of Problem Gambling Services in the U.S., close to 2.2% of Arkansans manifested a gambling problem.
Final Notes
Arkansas is an interesting part of the American gambling scene usa due to a long-lasting relationship with games and wagers through horse/dog racing that now has to try to thrive within the conservative population still grasping with the outcome of legalization.
While players’ protection in licensed venues will for sure include all the usual measures to establish healthy conditions for sustainable business growth and social approval, the market still has a long way to go.
While online gambling by definition remains prohibited, some offshore operators continue to accept Arkansans. Since playing online poker equals breaking the state law, the best advice would be to avoid it, particularly considering available players’ protection levels.
It would be safe to assume that the Racing Commission will continue to fine-tune regulations to find the proper balance between the proclivity of residents to gamble at large and traditional views on gambling. Hopefully, these initiatives will include online gambling and sports betting at some point.
The best contribution any player can give to this developing picture is to simply approach its games in a prudently and responsibly, within the limits of proper budget and good luck.
Further Reading
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