Arkansas Sports Betting Revenue For July Is In The Red

• Arkansas’ earnings report shows losses in sports betting revenue for July 2020.
• Only one sportsbook was operated in Arkansas in July due to coronavirus shutdowns.
• No regulated online or mobile sports betting options for Arkansas residents also attributes to the overall loss.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The Arkansas Racing Commission has released sports betting revenue for the month of July 2020 and the commission reports a loss.

Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic leading to shutdowns of major casinos, only one sports betting venue was active in July being the sportsbook at Oaklawn Park.

The Wonder State also suffered from a lack of regulated mobile betting. With many sports bettors staying home, thousands in revenue could have been garnered during the casino closures.

Arkansas Revenue

Sports betting in Arkansas returned in mid-July with only one sportsbook in operation.

Oaklawn Park took in $179,315 in total betting handle for the period it was operational. The sportsbook had to dish out $198,948 in winnings, resulting in a $19,633 loss in total sports betting revenue.

According to the report by the Department of Finance and Administration, Arkansas managed to take in a combined $4.6 million in gambling revenue with casino games and sports betting, however.

This is in addition to the increase of $8.4 million in state lottery revenue, which manages to soften to blow of the sports betting losses.

What Arkansas is truly missing out on, is the revenue it would gain from mobile and online sports betting.

With the Saracen Casino and Southland Casino sportsbooks remaining closed, sports bettors from the entire state would only be able to bet on sports at one location.

This alienates a large portion of the state who do not live in the Hot Springs area and do not wish to travel due to the current pandemic.

Regulated legal sports betting as a whole was non-existent in from March-July due to the casinos being closed.

Other states who have regulated sports betting were able to keep their sports betting revenue coming throughout the pandemic. Many states even saw growth.

This loss in sports betting revenue in Arkansas may be the driving force to motivate lawmakers in launching mobile sportsbooks.

News tags: Arkansas | Hot Springs | Little Rock | Oaklawn Park | Revenue | The Wonder State