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FanDuel and DraftKings have submitted applications to the Arkansas Racing Commission to enter the state’s mobile sports betting market, seeking approval to partner with existing licensed casinos in a structure that requires at least 51% of sports betting revenue to flow to in-state partners.
Scott Hardin, a spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, confirmed that if approved, both operators could partner with any of the state’s three licensed casino sportsbooks. A commission vote could come as early as 26 February, though Hardin confirmed no agenda has been formally set. If approved, both operators could begin operating immediately.
Partnership Structure
Reports indicate DraftKings would partner with Southland Casino in West Memphis, while FanDuel would align with Oaklawn Casino in Hot Springs. Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff is not expected to partner with either operator at this stage. Each casino retains the discretion to enter or decline a formal agreement.
There are early signs DraftKings has moved beyond preliminary planning. The operator has already embedded Southland Casino branding within its Arkansas-facing app interface and registered a local LLC in the state.
Arkansas currently supports three mobile sportsbooks — Oaklawn Sports, BetSaracen and Betly — each operated directly by the licensed casinos they are tethered to. The products have drawn criticism for falling short of national standards in technology and product depth, a gap that has suppressed handle growth relative to comparable states.
A Market Well Below Its Potential
Arkansas residents wagered $639.5m in 2025, up $98m, or 17.6%, from the year before. The growth rate is positive, but the absolute volume tells a different story. Iowa, a state with a similar population, generated approximately $2.9bn in handle over the same period. Missouri, which launched mobile betting in late December 2025, reported $543m in handle in its first month alone.
Gaming revenue per adult in Arkansas sits at approximately $29, against a national average of $125. The gap is attributed directly to the state’s limited digital product infrastructure rather than to demand.
FanDuel currently operates in 26 states and Puerto Rico. DraftKings operates in 27 states. DraftKings offers Daily Fantasy Sports in Arkansas but has no active online sports betting presence there. Both operators also run prediction market platforms in the state, though in restricted form — DraftKings Predictions in Arkansas is limited to financial markets, and FanDuel’s platform covers finance, economics and commodities only, with no sports event contracts available.
That restriction is deliberate. Both operators offer sports event contracts only in states where they do not hold a regulated sports betting licence, pointing to a clear preference for the licensed sportsbook route wherever regulatory access exists. For more on how the two operators have navigated US expansion, see our coverage of DraftKings’ record quarter and its market outlook.
The 51% Barrier
The mandatory revenue-sharing requirement has historically deterred national operators from Arkansas. In most states, revenue splits between platforms and their land-based partners are negotiated privately. Arkansas fixes the floor at 51% for the casino partner, materially compressing the margin available to a third-party operator.
With a population of around 3.1 million, the economics have not previously justified entry at that compression level. The new applications indicate that calculus has shifted. As state-by-state legalisation slows across the US and the map of available markets narrows, expansion into lower-margin states with mandatory sharing structures becomes more commercially viable — particularly for operators with established technology infrastructure that reduces incremental cost per market. For a broader view of the current US regulatory landscape, see our 2026 US gambling legislation tracker.
Analyst Projections
Citizens Gaming analyst Jordan Bender has outlined a bullish case for the market if both operators receive approval. Bender projects that by the third year of operation, Arkansas will generate $1.9bn in betting handle and $210m in revenue, up from $59.8m recorded last year. Based on a 50/50 market share split and the mandatory revenue-sharing structure, Bender estimates each operator could generate between $25m and $30m in EBITDA annually.
Those projections are contingent on both applications being approved and on the operators building market share quickly against the existing local products — neither of which is guaranteed. The commission vote, if it takes place at the end of February, will determine whether the market’s long period of underperformance relative to comparable states is coming to an end.
Source: Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration
