Online Gaming in Arkansas

In early 2025, bipartisan bills HB and SB 524 sought to create the Interactive Gaming Act, authorizing the state's three licensed casinos to each operate one branded iGaming platform offering online slots, table games, and live dealer games, with the Arkansas Racing Commission as regulator. The bills also would have classified operation of illegal online casinos — including sweepstakes casinos and crypto casinos — as a felony.

SB 524 was withdrawn one day after introduction. HB 1861 was pulled from a House Judiciary Committee hearing on April 7, 2025, and the committee recommended it for further interim study ahead of the 2026 session. No iGaming bill advanced in the 2026 session. Online casino gambling remains illegal in Arkansas, though the issue is expected to resurface in future sessions.

In December 2013, Oaklawn Racing and Gaming launched oaklawnanywhere.com. The site provides advance deposit wagering (ADW) in partnership with Churchill Downs' TwinSpires.com. The website allows patrons to wager on races at Oaklawn and other races throughout the U.S. and the world.

Oaklawn Anywhere is currently the only ADW site regulated and taxed by Arkansas.

In April 2017, Governor Asa Hutchinson signed House Bill 2250, legalizing and regulating fantasy sports and clarifying the legality of sites like DraftKings and FanDuel. The state became the first to sign such a bill in 2017.

In April 2021 a bill calling for the introduction and regulation of online sports pools by casino licensees in Arkansas was referred to the state House Rules Committee. Introduced by Representative Lee Johnson, it asks for online sports betting to be approved "immediately" for operation in the state.

The bill outlines that each casino should have no more than three individually branded online sports betting platforms. The Arkansas Racing Commission would handle most other regulatory necessities such as determining the types of wagers offered, the record-keeping requirements, and ensuring children are not targeted by gambling advertising.

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