Arkansas Sports Betting 2026: Best Legal AR Sportsbooks & Betting Apps
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- Arkansas Racing Commission unanimously approved FanDuel and DraftKings as licensed sports wagering vendors on Feb. 26, 2026, and both operators launched on March 20, 2026, ending a market previously limited to three in-state apps.
- DraftKings partnered with Southland Casino Hotel and FanDuel partnered with Oaklawn Casino, both accepting the 51%-49% revenue split that had previously deterred major third-party operators from entering Arkansas.
- Oaklawn Sports will no longer operate independently and will instead use the FanDuel app under the banner "powered by Oaklawn Sports," while DraftKings takes over the Southland license previously held by Betly.
- Saracen Casino Resort did not enter a national partnership and continues running its own BETSaracen app, with Arkansas's three commercial casinos allowed up to two sportsbook skins each under the unchanged revenue split.
- Arkansas charged sportsbooks a 13% tax on the first $150 million in gaming revenue and 20% above that, collecting $7.229 million in sports betting tax revenue from January through October 2025.
- Arkansas bettors can wager on professional sports, college sports (in-state and out-of-state), and collegiate player props, but state-licensed sportsbooks are barred from offering eSports and prediction-market wagers, though Kalshi and Polymarket remain accessible as federally regulated trading markets.
Why it matters: Arkansas bettors gain access to two of the largest U.S. sportsbooks with launch promos, breaking out of a market that had been limited to three in-house apps since 2022. The same 51%-49% revenue split that finally brought DraftKings and FanDuel to the table also forces them to hand the majority of revenue to in-state casino partners—the explicit reason operators stayed out for years.
