Saracen Casino Resort, located in Pine Bluff, Arkansas is asking the Arkansas Racing Commission to have a substantive conversation about allowing online gambling, specifically iGaming, in the Natural State.
Let’s Talk
Saracen Casino is the only tribal casino in the state and offers mobile betting through its BetSaracen Sportsbook. The other two are commercial casinos; Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort (Oaklawn Sportsbook) and Southland Casino Hotel (Betly) that also offer online sports betting.
But as of this moment, Saracen is the only one of the three requesting a discussion with the Arkansas Racing Commission (ARC) about the right to offer iGaming in the state. If the gambit is successful, there is little doubt the other two casinos will want in on the action but right now, the primary driver instigating this discussion is Saracen Chief Marketing Officer Carlton Saffa.
Looking for A Regulated Market
Last month, Saracen sent a letter to the ARC which was “simply a request to start a conversation that needs to occur on their timeline.” One of Saffa’s concerns is the unregulated online casino gaming sites that can be nefarious and predatory and whose revenues are not being taxed by the state.
“[Unregulated operators] are a serious issue, and we want to address it,” Saffa said. “We look forward to visiting the commission about a problem, which is unlicensed, unregulated, and untaxed real-money gaming occurring in Arkansas today. You need a legitimate alternative because there is consumer demand for this.”
Saffa believes ARC can amend the rule in its charter to allow iGaming and the legislature would only need to ratify it. “In Arkansas, you can do poker and sports betting anywhere in the state,” Saffa said. “We have an amendment that says let’s take that interactive framework for poker and add in all other games.”
There are no national mobile sportsbooks, ala FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars, et al, operating in Arkansas due to the onerous 51% that they would have to share with whichever casino to which they were tethered. Therefore, it is likely the same untenable circumstances would apply for iGaming as well which would leave it up to the casinos to develop their own platforms.
Fourth Casino License
There is one more casino license up for grabs in Arkansas and the Arkansas Racing Commission recently voted to open a new 30-day application period which will run from May 13th to June 12th. This will be the third attempt in the last five years to award a license to a winning bidder for the Pope County license. Two previous licenses issued to Gulfside Casino Partnership and Cherokee Nation Business/Legends Resort & Casino were both voided by the courts.
It appears both entities are interested in resubmitting proposals with Casey Castleberry, counsel for Gulfside Casino Partnership, issuing the following statement:
“We appreciate the Arkansas Racing Commission (ARC) making it clear the application period will open Sunday and close on June 12. Prior to the ARC’s deadline, we look forward to presenting our proposal to the Pope County Quorum Court and seeking a resolution of support.”
Cherokee Nation Businesses CEO Chuck Garrett also released a statement, saying, “Having obtained the exclusive support of Pope County Judge Ben Cross as required by Amendment 100 and a resolution of support from the Pope County Quorum Court, we anticipate being the sole qualified applicant. We look forward to standing before the Arkansas Racing Commission where we will demonstrate our more than 30 years of experience in gaming and hospitality, as well as our plans for Legends Resort & Casino to be built in Russellville.”
