DraftKings and FanDuel requested permission to enter Arkansas mobile sports betting after national brands were effectively shut out by a strict 51% revenue rule.
Arkansas gamblers might be able to use DraftKings and FanDuel in the future as both companies have filed their applications to operate mobile sports betting in the state. They will be able to launch their operations right away if their applications are approved.
Scott Hardin of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration informed KNWA/FOX24 that DraftKings and FanDuel could, if permitted, enter into partnership with any of the three casino sportsbooks in the state holding a license.
He mentioned that there is no meeting scheduled yet but it could even be as soon as next week. If granted the permission, the operators would be able to start their services in the state straight away.
The three licensed casinos are Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Saracen in Pine Bluff, and Southland in West Memphis. It is said that DraftKings will be Southland’s partner whereas FanDuel will be Oaklawn’s partner.
Arkansas authorized retail sports betting in 2018 and commenced mobile sports betting in 2022. The state permits up to six mobile operators, two of which are dedicated to each of the three retail casinos.
Currently, there are three betting platforms operating in Arkansas: BetSaracen at Saracen Casino Resort, Betly Sportsbook at Southland Casino, and Oaklawn Sports at Oaklawn Casino. The few choices and the absence of nationwide operators have resulted in the state of Arkansas making much less money than similar states.
Players bet a total of approximately $655 million in Arkansas in 2025. As a comparison, Iowa, which has almost the same number of people, had close to $2.9 billion in bets at the same time, which is more than quadruple the total in Arkansas.
Meanwhile, Missouri, which has almost twice the population of Arkansas, revealed $543 million in bets in its first month after the launch in December 2025.
Why Arkansas is still lagging behind the sports betting national trend
Even though mobile sports betting was made legal a couple of years ago, the Arkansas market is still limited to casino-operated platforms. The biggest component is the state’s 51 percent revenue share imposition.
Arkansas has a rule that requires third-party operators like DraftKings and FanDuel to give up 51 percent of their sports betting revenue to their casino partner inside the state. In a majority of the other states, the revenue shares are negotiated privately so that operators can keep a bigger share of the pie. Such a situation dramatically lowers the margins of operators in Arkansas.
Strict regulations along with a population that is only around 3.1 million might have made it impossible for the big operators to make money by going in.
New filings suggest that either the commercial terms have become more manageable or that growth and competition are the main factors that are gradually overcoming, up to now, the concerns, especially as the pace of legalization is slowing down from one state to another.
This move is really quite outstanding in the total betting market. DraftKings and FanDuel run prediction market platforms in most states but neither of them currently offers sports event contracts in Arkansas.
DraftKings Predict in Arkansas is only concerned with financial markets. FanDuels platform has finance, economics, and commodities but there are no sports contracts. Ironically, both companies provide sports event contracts only in those states where they do not have sports betting operations.
The firms are evidently progressing to the regulated sportsbook market as they are opting to get into Arkansas through the state’s regulatory process rather than using their prediction market platforms.
