Sports Betting News Coming Out of Missouri and Arkansas

To date, the states of Missouri and Arkansas have yet to garner much attention regarding the legalization of sports betting. In Missouri, efforts to pass sports betting legislation have been going back and forth over the last two years. In Arkansas, online sports betting has been available for a while but with limited access and recognition. It would seem changes are underway in both states.

Missouri Sports Betting Legislation Moves Closer to the Goal Line

With the mid-term election scheduled for November of this year, many states will be looking to conclude their legislative sessions within the next few weeks. Missouri is among those states with the current legislative session scheduled to close in two weeks.

As of now, it looks like current sports betting legislation might have a real chance of passing before mid-May. This would be great news for Missouri sports bettors who are tired of driving to Iowa, Illinois, Arkansas, and Tennessee to place online/mobile wagers.

As is usually the case, Missouri legislators have finally come to the realization that millions in potential sports gambling tax revenue are going to the aforementioned states. That's why the current legislation is finally getting seriously considered after a series of stalled bills. They want to keep this tax in-state and quit supporting neighboring states.

The current legislation that is on the table would return tax revenue of between 8% and 10% on all gross sports betting revenue, Is this what the people of Missouri want. According to Mike Leara, chairman of the Missouri Gaming Commission, "The feedback is people in the state wanted it, and there was a large number of people in Missouri crossing the river to make bets." He also states that a lot of Missouri residents believe the state will greatly benefit from taking action.

New Online Sports Betting Operator Launches In Arkansas

For several years now, Arkansas sports bettors have had access to retail sports betting through casino sportsbooks being run by Saracen Casino and Southland Casino Racing (operated by Betly). Early in 2022, the Arkansas legislature finally gave the green light for online sports betting when they got the appropriate legal framework into place.

By late March 2022, BetSaracen (through Saracen Casino) was the first to launch an online sports betting site. For a month, they had a monopoly on online sports betting in the state. That monopoly finally came to an end this week with the launch of the new Betly online site. The new site features betting markets from all over the world, including access to betting on Arkansas college games and events.

The launching of these two online sportsbooks should represent the tip of the iceberg. With six sports betting licenses approved by the Arkansas Racing Commission, it is widely expected that Arkansas sports bettors could be getting access to mobile sports betting in the very near future, a future that would include apps from the two aforementioned operators. Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks.