A new set of bills in Arkansas aim to introduce online casinos as well as following the example of many other states by banning sweepstakes casinos.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced Senate Bill 524 and House Bill 1861 on Wednesday, with the state’s three licensed casinos earmarked for iGaming licenses.
These land-based facilities already run online sportsbooks, with the Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort also having a horse racing betting app. Arkansas would be just the eighth state with legal iGaming if it gets the necessary support.
bills would make it a felony for anyone to run sweepstakes casinos
The bills would make it a felony for anyone to run sweepstakes casinos as they’re deemed to be an unregulated form of gambling.
The proposal has until April 11 to get support from lawmakers in both chambers before the legislative session ends. Proponents of the bills believe that prohibiting sweepstakes sites will bring an end to the current “Wild West” situation where these platforms are able to run without regulation or contribute anything to the local economy.
While there was no mention of a proposed tax rate for iGaming, there was an interesting clause in the bills that mentioned how the money from any accounts dormant for 16 months will go to the Arkansas Racing Commission after two years.