FanDuel and DraftKings are set to launch their respective mobile sportsbooks in Arkansas after earning approval from state regulators Thursday.
- Arkansas regulators unanimously approved FanDuel and DraftKings to launch mobile sportsbooks through partnerships with Oaklawn and Southland casinos.
- A revised structure lets the national brands operate as platform providers, avoiding the state’s 51% third-party tax and entering the market after years of absence.
- State officials expect the additions to significantly boost betting handle, despite opposition from Saracen over competitive and tax concerns.
FanDuel will partner with Oaklawn Casino and replace its eponymous sportsbook. DraftKings will have a similar deal with Southland Casino, where it will take over the property’s Betly sportsbook.
Both giants had promoted their availability in the state ahead of Thursday’s vote by the Arkansas Racing and Gaming Commission. They are expected to start taking bets in the coming days.
“We’re excited to team up with Southland Casino Hotel to bring DraftKings’ top-rated mobile sportsbook to Arkansas and introduce fans to our best-in-class sports betting offering,” said Gregory Karamitis, DraftKings' executive vice president and general manager of sports.
“As March Madness approaches and several major sports are underway, we look forward to serving Arkansas customers with innovative features, including our No. 1 live betting experience and a continued commitment to responsible gaming.”
Arkansas background
The nation’s two highest-grossing sportsbooks will now enter Arkansas, more than three years after the state first launched legal sports betting. Arkansas was the lone state of the 31 with legal mobile sports betting to have a competitive market and no national brands.
The state’s regulatory structure requires any out-of-state third-party operating partners to remit 51% of their revenues in taxes. This fee, which ties New York for the nation’s highest, dissuaded any national brands from entering the state.
In recent months, Oaklawn and Southland worked out a deal that allows the two sportsbook brands to serve as their platform providers, not third-party operators. This new arrangement allows FanDuel and DraftKings to avoid the 51% tax.
In Arkansas, Oaklawn is looking for regulator approval to convert its eponymous sportsbook into FanDuel and Betly the same for DraftKings; Bet Saracen, the state's third book, has testified against the conversion
— Ryan Butler (@ButlerBets) February 26, 2026
For Arkansas sports betting customers, this arrangement will be unnoticeable. Both FanDuel and DraftKings are set to offer the same betting lines and types they do in the roughly two-dozen other states where they both operate.
Ahead of the unanimous vote Thursday, state gaming regulators said they have been pestered for years with questions about the unavailability of national brands. Arkansas’ per capita sports betting revenue was the lowest of any mobile sports betting jurisdiction, as the locally branded sportsbooks could not offer the betting capabilities or product recognition of the national operators.
Both FanDuel and DraftKings have roughly 33% nationwide market share. Speaking ahead of Thursday’s vote, DraftKings representatives projected the launch of the U.S. market share leaders would quintuple Arkansas’ betting handle.
Saracen opposition
The approval came despite passionate opposition from the state’s third mobile sportsbook.
Saracen Casino chief marketing officer Carlton Saffa pleaded with regulators not to allow entry for FanDuel and DraftKings. Representing the operator of Bet Saracen, the state’s current highest-grossing sportsbook, Saffa said the national brands would usher in a promotional blitz that would allow them to corner the market, then reduce their tax liabilities with free bets and other promos.
“Today we have a system that is working for Arkansas, one that other states want to replicate,” Saffa said. “If you allow this, you will break this system.”
The plea didn’t sway commissioners, who voted 7-0 to welcome FanDuel and DraftKings.
It remains to be seen if Saracen will look to strike a similar deal with a third-party operator. Though it only has a high single-digit national market share, Fanatics has established itself as the No. 3 U.S. sports betting operator by revenue in most jurisdictions in which it operates. BetMGM and Caesars are typically also among U.S. market leaders, but it may be more logistically difficult for both sides to partner with a competing brick-and-mortar property.
