Arkansas Sports Betting: Best AR Online Sportsbook Sites 2024

Arkansas promos and bonuses

An expansion of mobile sports betting in Arkansas will mean plenty of bonuses and offers for anyone making wagers within state lines. We encourage everyone to maximize their bonus and offer exposure, since many of these first-time inducements result in real cash landing in sports bettors’ accounts, with little playthrough required (for the most part).

Arkansas betting apps

Unfortunately for Arkansas residents and visitors, there really isn’t much to choose from when it comes to sports betting options within the state. And while that’s likely to change in the coming months and years, for the time being, Arkansans will need to swallow hard and accept the meager sportsbook selection in place.

One dependable option is Daily Fantasy Sports contests, which are legal in Arkansas (though Pick 'Em is not). For a more in-depth breakdown, check out our guide to the best DFS sites.

Arkansas sports betting quick facts

How to bet in Arkansas

Choose your sportsbook

Once online sports betting operators begin to enter AR, you can consult our top list above for the best sports betting options available to you. Our interactive list will allow you to sort sportsbooks based on a number of criteria, including banking options, bonuses and quality of customer service.

If you’re looking for more information before making your choice, be sure to check out our detailed, unbiased reviews for each of the top sportsbooks in Arkansas. This is especially important if you want to understand how each book’s bonus offers work.

Register online

Registration requirements will vary slightly by sportsbook, but most follow the same protocols. Be sure to have your personal information (name, address, phone number) and credit card details (number, expiry date, CVV) handy.

Deposit and claim your bonus

Once you’re comfortable with how your sportsbook’s new signup bonus works, it’s time to make your initial deposit and claim that sweet bonus. The majority of first-time offers for Arkansasns come in one of two forms:

• Bonus bets: This offer gives you extra bonus bets if your first wager is graded as a loss. The sportsbook will refund your initial bet amount (up to a specific limit) as bonus bet credits that can be used to make additional wagers. They cannot be withdrawn as cash.
• Deposit match: This offer sees the sportsbook match your initial deposit dollar-for-dollar, though there are two caveats. The deposit match will come with a maximum limit, and in the majority of cases you will be required to “play through” your initial deposit by a certain multiple in order to earn the bonus.

Select and finalize your bet

Congratulations! You’re ready to place a wager. Take some time to familiarize yourself with the app interface before diving in. Most mobile operators make it easy for new sports bettors to navigate, but it’s still a good idea to know where everything is.

From there, you can place any type of wager you like; the most popular bet types are the moneyline, spread or total. You can also dive into team or player props, or even kick things off with a futures bet.

Once you have the desired wager(s) in your betting card, take one last look to ensure you’ve made the selections you want. If everything is good, simply click the “Bet” button – and you’re off!

Arkansas legal sports betting history

Getting retail sports betting in place was the easy part for Arkansas lawmakers and sports betting operators. Mobile wagering? That has proven much more difficult.

Between debates over the number of skins each casino would have to how much money the sportsbooks would be forced to pay (hint: it’s a lot), it sure seemed for a while like Arkansas legislators weren’t all that concerned about even having mobile sports betting in place. Eventually, common sense prevailed – but it will be interesting to see what kind of interest Arkansas attracts among the marquee operators.

Here’s a look at Arkansas’s sports betting history:

2018-19: Voters Approve Gaming Expansion

Mere months after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, Arkansas voters approved Arkansas Issue 4, a constitutional amendment allowing for a massive gaming expansion – including sports betting.

The process moved relatively quickly from there, with Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort taking the state’s first legal sports bets in July 2019. Exactly three months later, Saracen Casino opened its proprietary in-house sportsbook to become the second venue to offer legal sports betting in Arkansas.

2020: Three Players in the AR Space

Southland Casino Racing joined the sports betting club in January 2020 in partnership with Betly Sportsbook, giving Arkansans three retail wagering options. 

Then, just as the state’s retail sports betting market really seemed to be hitting its stride, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the sports world – and with it, Arkansas’ three retail sportsbooks. It took months for the industry to rebound; thankfully, with the NFL and NCAA football seasons moving ahead, Arkansas sports betting did recover.

2021: More Online Skins, But With a Major Catch

Most of the 2021 sports betting year in Arkansas was uneventful, with the three existing retail sportsbooks making significant year-over-year gains but legislators seeing little progress on an expansion into the online sports wagering space.

Just two days before the end of the calendar year, the Arkansas Racing Commission dropped a bombshell. It passed a set of regulations that would allow for online sports betting while awarding two skins apiece to the state’s four casinos (the three already in operation along with the Pope Country casino, which was still being built.)

The catch (and it was a big one): the requirement that sportsbooks give a whopping 51 percent of their sports betting revenue to their partnering casino. Representatives from several high-profile sports betting operators voiced their objections, but to no avail.

2022: Mobile Betting Debuts in Arkansas

Online sports betting was trending in the right direction heading into 2022, even while the ARC removed mobile wagering from the legislative agenda just prior to the Super Bowl (thereby eliminating the possibility of bettors being able to wager on the Big Game from their phones). The rule changes were ultimately approved the following month, and mobile sports betting officially became legal on March 4. 

Betly wasted no time getting into the space, launching its mobile web offering one day after the official start date. It took Saracen a little longer; it launched its BetSaracen app on May 10 after dealing with a litany of delays due to testing and vendor issues.

2023 to Present: Steady Progress

Sports betting has steadily grown in Arkansas in recent years. Overall revenue shot up significantly in the first full year after legalization, going from $17.9 million in 2022 to $37.2 million the next year (2024 is on track to be the best year yet). 

Responsible Gaming in Arkansas

Like most states, Arkansas has put safeguards in place to ensure that bettors have a way out of any potential trouble spots. 

The Arkansas chapter of the National Council on Problem Gambling is the state’s main online resource for players who seek help. Visitors can access a variety of help options from the site, including Gamblers Anonymous, Gam-Anon and mental health services.

Visit the National Council on Problem Gambling site.

Sports leagues to bet on

It will come as no surprise to see a rather extensive list of major professional and amateur sports available to Arkansas bettors – a list that includes (but is not limited to):

• NFL
• NCAA Football
• NBA
• NCAA Basketball
• MLB
• NHL
• Golf
• Auto Racing
• Tennis
• Soccer
• MMA

That doesn’t leave much off the table, but there are two major markets in which wagering in Arkansas is prohibited:

• Politics
• Esports

Sports bettors can check out the top sportsbooks for specific sports, leagues, playoffs, and categories:

Arkansas retail sportsbooks

The retail options are limited in Arkansas, with just three brick-and-mortar sportsbooks offering legal sports betting within state borders. Here’s a list of the retail sportsbooks available to those in Arkansas:

Oaklawn Casino Racing Resort (Oaklawn Sportsbook, 2705 Central Ave, Hot Springs, AR, 71901)

Saracen Casino Resort (BetSaracen Sportsbook, 1 Saracen Resort Dr, Pine Bluff, AR, 71601)

Southland Casino Racing (Betly Sportsbook, 1550 N. Ingram Blvd. West Memphis, AR, 72301)

Arkansas sports betting tax & handle

Here’s a look at Arkansas’ monthly sports betting handle beginning in 2019.

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

After seeing incremental gains through its retail-only sports betting model and having to deal with a months-long freeze due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Arkansas finally broke through during the 2021 NFL season, posting a record $9.5 million handle in October. The debut of mobile wagering resulted in a new mark of $10.7 million in March 2022. 

Operators pay 13 percent in tax on the first $150 million of net gaming revenues, and 20 percent on net revenue exceeding the $150-million plateau. Further to this, sportsbooks must relinquish 51 percent of all revenues to the casinos to which they’re tethered.

Growth of sports betting 📈

When the U.S. Supreme Court repealed PASPA in 2018, the growth of legal sports betting in the United States skyrocketed. Close to three dozen states have since legalized some form of sports betting, with the most common legislation including the licensing of online sportsbooks and mobile betting apps. Check our legal sports betting tracker to find out more about any state you're interested in. 

Over the past few years, large states like Ohio and Massachusetts have enjoyed massively successful online betting launches. Sports fans get an extra way to engage with their favorite teams, and the states earn plenty of much-needed revenue from licensing fees and taxes.

More recently, legal North Carolina sports betting arrived on March 11, 2024, bringing eight of the best sportsbooks in the country to the Tar Heel state. And with events like the Copa America and Euro 2024 soccer tournaments happening all Summer long, the excitement and opportunities for sports betting enthusiasts continue to grow.