War of Words Goes Online in Arkansas Sports Betting Profit Sharing Battle

A battle in Arkansas is intensifying over the amount of profits online bookmakers should be required to share with local casinos when partnering on mobile sports betting apps.

The Arkansas Racing Commission is set to vote Dec. 30 on a rule change to allow statewide mobile sports betting.

What the Arkansas Sports Betting Rule Says

The proposed rule now includes language that would give the state’s casinos a majority of the profits if they partner with a brand-name national online bookmaker.

Arkansas casinos want 51% of the profits in Arkansas sports betting partnerships. Online bookmakers typically share 5-15%.

A Facebook page titled Bet on Arkansas appeared over the weekend, with a link to a website, also called Bet on Arkansas.

According to the website, the Bet on Arkansas coalition consists of “the most innovative and popular” online sports-betting brands, including BallyBet, BetMGM Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics Sportsbook.

At the website, users are asked to sign a petition opposing the plan to give Arkansas casinos 51% of the revenue. That arrangement would “limit the ability of online sport betting companies to partner with Arkansas casinos,” the website states.

The bookmakers say these percentages should be negotiated between themselves and the casinos, not mandated by the government. No other state has a rule that sets profit-sharing percentages, according to a representative of the Bet on Arkansas coalition.

“Customers should have access to the most competitive prices, the best promotions and bonuses and the strongest customer protections, which would be limited by regulation directing 51% of revenue to casino partners,” the website states.

Arkansas Casino Executive Responds

Carlton Saffa, the chief market officer at Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff, recently told Gambling.com the majority of sports betting revenue should remain in-state, where the casinos employ thousands of workers combined.

He said he was not surprised national companies want to “extract 80-95% of gaming revenues out of our state.”

In a recent tweet, Saffa took DraftKings to task for an email last week asking recipients to “tell lawmakers to let Arkansas bet.” The email contains a picture of a state Capitol different from Little Rock.

“These out-of-state folks apparently think a picture of 2011 Wisconsin budget protestors in the snow is what our state Capitol looks like,” Saffa tweeted.

Natural State Casinos Get Two Skins Each

Under the proposed rule to be decided next week, Arkansas’ casinos would get two mobile skins, the term for a sports betting website and accompanying smartphone app.

The three casinos in Arkansas are Saracen, Oaklawn Casino Resort in Hot Springs, and Southland Casino Racing in West Memphis. A fourth casino in Pope County has been approved but has not been built.

With one skin, a casino could market its own Arkansas sports betting app and use the second to partner with an outside online bookmaker. A casino also could offer just its skin for usage and not activate the second one. Or the casino could use both skins to partner with sports betting operators such as those in the Bet on Arkansas coalition.