FanDuel and DraftKings apply to enter Arkansas sports betting

• FanDuel and DraftKings have submitted applications to the Arkansas Racing Commission to operate mobile sportsbooks in the state via partnerships with existing casino licensees.
• Under Arkansas law, any approved third-party operator must allocate at least 51% of sports betting revenue to its in-state casino partner.
• The ARC may vote as early as late February, though no agenda has been confirmed per state spokesperson Scott Hardin.

FanDuel and DraftKings have formally applied to offer mobile sports betting in Arkansas, seeking regulatory approval to partner with the state’s licensed casinos.

Scott Hardin, a spokesperson with the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, confirmed to local broadcaster KNWA/FOX24 that if approved, the two operators could partner with any of the three existing casino sportsbooks in the state.

The move marks a long-awaited potential shift for a market that has operated without major national brands since mobile betting launched in 2022.

Potential casino partnerships

According to reports, DraftKings would partner with Southland Casino in West Memphis, while FanDuel would partner with Oaklawn Casino in Hot Springs. Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff is not, at this stage, expected to align with either operator.

Each casino would retain discretion over whether to enter a formal agreement and could opt to co-brand its sports betting app with a national platform.

Commissioners may vote as early as late February — with 26 February cited in multiple reports as a possible date — though Hardin confirmed no agenda has been set. If approved, both operators could begin operating in the state immediately.

There are early signals that preparations are already underway. DraftKings has already embedded Southland branding within its Arkansas-facing app interface and registered an in-state LLC.

A market long left behind

Arkansas currently supports three online sportsbooks — Oaklawn Sports, BetSaracen and Betly — each operated directly by the state’s licensed casinos.

Betly Sportsbook is tethered to Southland Casino, BetSaracen to Saracen Casino Resort and Oaklawn Sports to Oaklawn Casino. The model has drawn criticism for falling short of national standards in terms of technology and product depth.

The consequences are clear in the data. Arkansas residents wagered $639.5 million in 2025. That represents an increase of $98 million, or 17.6%, from the previous year, according to figures from the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.

The growth is notable, yet the state still lags far behind comparable markets. Iowa, a state with a similar population, generated approximately $2.9 billion in handle over the same period.

Neighboring Missouri, which launched mobile sports betting in late December 2025, reported $543 million in handle in the first month of activity.

Per analyst estimates, Arkansas gaming revenue per adult is reported at approximately $29, well below the national average of $125, a gap attributed to the state’s less developed digital platform infrastructure.

The 51% barrier

The primary barrier to entry for national operators has been Arkansas’s mandatory revenue-sharing structure. Under state law, at least 51% of sports betting revenue must go to the in-state casino partner. In most states, revenue splits are negotiated privately. Arkansas’s fixed requirement materially compresses the margins available to third-party operators.

Due to the high requirements and the relatively low population of around 3.1 million, the economics for major operators may not have justified entry until now.

The new applications suggest that geographic expansion and competitive positioning are now outweighing those earlier concerns, particularly as state-by-state legalization across the US slows.

FanDuel currently operates in 26 states and Puerto Rico, while DraftKings operates in 27 states. DraftKings offers Daily Fantasy Sports in Arkansas, but does not currently provide online sports betting there.

Optimistic analyst projections

Citizens Gaming Analyst Jordan Bender has outlined a bullish case for Arkansas if both operators are approved. Bender projects that by the third year of operation, the state will generate $1.9 billion in betting handle and $210 million in revenue, up from $59.8 million last year.

Based on a 50/50 market share split and revenue-sharing agreements with the casinos, each operator could generate between $25 million and $30 million in EBITDA.

Both companies also operate prediction market platforms in Arkansas, though in a limited capacity. DraftKings Predictions in Arkansas is restricted to financial markets, while FanDuel’s platform in the state covers finance, economics and commodities, with no sports event contracts available.

Both operators offer sports event contracts only in states where they do not operate regulated sports betting, indicating a deliberate push into the licensed sportsbook market via the formal regulatory framework.

Market implications

The entry of two nationally scaled operators would represent a meaningful structural change for Arkansas. All three sportsbooks currently available in the state offer limited wagering options compared to FanDuel or DraftKings. Expanded product depth, sharper odds, broader promotions and greater marketing reach are among the expected benefits for consumers.

Whether the late-February ARC meeting produces a vote remains unconfirmed. If approved, the licensing of FanDuel and DraftKings would signal that Arkansas’s protectionist market structure has reached a commercial tipping point.

For operators watching the remaining unlicensed states, it may also indicate that mandatory revenue-sharing frameworks are no longer an automatic deterrent to market access, especially as the pace of new state legalizations moderates across the US.