Share
The Arkansas legislature’s shortened session this year didn’t leave a lot of time to debate the proposal to legalize online casinos. A push by multiple legislators in Little Rock to expand gambling across the state seems to have become a casualty of a time crunch. However, the bill served to get the ball rolling, and the silver lining is that the idea hasn’t been shot down, just set aside for further consideration.
Arkansas has shorter and longer legislative sessions in alternating years. Odd-numbered years are the short ones, so there will be more time to discuss iGaming in 2026.
However, there are still significant hurdles to overcome if online casinos are to have a chance. One of the three gambling licensees in the state, Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, does not the expansion. Additionally, questions about local control over gaming within Arkansas’ borders complicate the situation.
HB1861 gets study recommendation
On April 7, the Arkansas House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee recommended HB1861 for study. That move followed Rep. Matt Duffield, the bill’s primary sponsor, withdrawing the proposal.
HB1861 increased penalties for offering gambling to people in the state without a license from the Arkansas Racing Commission (ARC). It also established a new lottery with proceeds going to fund payments to athletes at the University of Arkansas.
HB1861 aimed to create a statewide emergency related to those funds and the prevalence of illegal gambling. Finally, HB1861 gave licensees the option to offer digital versions of table games, online slots.
Those concepts will now be the subject of legislative studies for future sessions. The Arkansas legislature closes out its 2025 session on April 11.
The impact of the introduction of iGaming statewide on current physical casinos and the legality of doing so by statute are likely to be among aspects these studies cover.
Cannibalization concerns fuel Oaklawn’s opposition
When discussing the concept of legal iGaming in Arkansas, representatives for Oaklawn have thus far expressed that they prefer the status quo. They have cited fears that access to regulated online casino play would mean less revenue from gaming overall.
However, Oaklawn staff have not yet gone as far as to say that they wouldn’t participate if given the opportunity. Similarly, executives at Southland Casino Hotel have not provided public comment on the premise of iGaming whatsoever.
Executives at Saracen Casino Resort have been bullish on legal online casino access in Arkansas. That advocacy has included requesting the ARC to draft rules for the gaming vertical.
Whether the ARC has the authority to do so could become the subject of study as well.
Local control over gaming complicates expansion
One question that could arise for legislators in the midst of studying HB1861 is whether the Arkansas Constitution allows for an expansion of gambling that affects the entire state. There are arguments to be made both ways.
In March 2024, the ARC enacted new rules governing online sports wagering that has since been available throughout Arkansas. In that move, the ARC demonstrated confidence that the Constitution already authorized such gambling as an amendment authorized by voters in 2018 did not restrict such betting to land-based activity only.
Since the onset of online sports wagering, there have been no significant challenges to that interpretation. That could be a different story for iGaming, however.
The most recent addition to the Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 104, establishes that a local referendum in the affected county is necessary before the ARC can grant a new gaming license for that area. While that amendment is currently being challenged in federal court, litigants could challenge any authorization of online casino play as the state government overreaching its constitutional powers.
Some in Little Rock might be looking to head off that question by instituting a statewide referendum on iGaming. Sen. Bryan King filed a resolution in March that presented a vague opportunity to amend the Arkansas Constitution regarding gambling.
At this point, there are numerous possibilities that the studies are likely to address. When the 2026 legislative session in Little Rock opens, like Duffield and King could have a well-formed plan to open Arkansas up to iGaming.
