Arkansas Kickstarts Sports Betting As Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort General Manager Places First Wager

The ninth US state to officially launch regulated sports betting, Arkansas, had a first ceremonial sports wager placed by the Manager of Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, Wayne Smith.

The sportsbook was opened last week at Hot Springs track when Smith wagered $5 on the Dallas Cowboys in their NFL season opener against New York Giants on September 8th.

The Only Venue With a Sportsbook

Oaklawn, which had its racetrack inaugurated in 1904, will be – at least for the time being – the only property in Arkansas to permit sports betting. Constitutional amendments that were used to bring casinos to this state included the installment of sportsbooks…

…which was endorsed and voted for by the residents. 54.1% were for the amendment, effectively allowing four casinos in this state.

Oaklawn is located 50 miles away from Little Rock, the state capital. One of other four casinos, Southland Casino Racing, is just across Memphis, Tennessee, while the other two casinos will be located near Pine Bluff and Russellville.

What About Mobile Betting?

The facility with the first and only sportsbook in the state hopes to see the legalization of online and mobile betting…

…with Arkansas being one of the rare examples of states not recognizing these forms of gambling. Media Relations Manager, Jennifer Hoyt, has said that the casino hopes to offer a “mobile application that can be used on premises in the near future,” after being approved by the regulator.

The sportsbook in Oaklawn offers betting on NFL and college football, pro and college basketball and baseball, pro soccer, gold, ice hockey, tennis, racing and Olympic events.

Software is provided by SBTech distributes the risk management solutions. The sportsbook was a part of the $100 million investment in this venue, which is also going to get its hotel and conference center.

Not Going According to Plans in Southland

Even though Southland Casino also began offering gambling services in April, there’s no sportsbook for this venue in sight any time soon.

Delaware North, which operates Southland, had to close its sportsbook in West Virginia due to a dispute between tech provider and partner. Delaware North sued Miomni under the pretense that it “falsely represented its rights to a sports betting platform that was operated by Enterg Software Solutinos.”

Glen White, Delaware North’s director of corporate communications, told casino.org, that “at this time Delaware North is working to enlist a technology partner for sports wagering and does not have a start date for our sportsbook at Southland Casino Racing.”

Source:

“Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort opens first sports betting facility in Arkansas”, yogonet.com