- outhland Gaming & Racing Would Become First Ever Legal Arkansas Sportsbook
- Southland Gaming & Racing Is Located Only 13 Minutes Outside Of Memphis, TN
WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. – It may not be much longer until sports betting in Arkansas goes live. Southland Gaming & Racing has already begun to promote BetLucky within it’s facility, stating that the sportsbook is “Coming Soon”.
However, this is the only indication of a timeline so far. The company has not listed any news on the matter through their website or through an official press release.
The West Memphis racino has cleared most hurdles standing in the way of introducing sports wagering at their facility.
Last November, voters in Arkansas approved this gambling expansion to be held in the state’s two existing racinos and at two other locations that have yet to be built. On top of that, last month the Arkansas Racing Commission approved the official rules and regulations over the activity.
The wait is more or less dependent on the speed of which the company is able to roll out the additional amenity within the racino. Southland Gaming & Racing is owned by Delaware North, the same company which owns two racinos in WV along with the BetLucky mobile sports betting app.
Last week, Delaware North suspended all sports betting operations for it’s three WV sportsbooks due to a contract dispute with Miomni, the company that powers their sports betting technology.
There is no clear indication of whether or not this dispute will affect the rollout of BetLucky at Southland Gaming, but given the fact that they have already begun to advertise the sportsbook shows that it may not.
What this Means For Sports Betting in Arkansas And Tennessee
If Southland Gaming & Racing is able to start accepting sports bets soon, they will be the first venue in Arkansas to do so.
The state of AK has imposed a licensing fee of no more than $250,000 dollars and a tax rate for casino revenue will be set at 13 percent for the first $150 million dollars and 20 percent once it exceeds that.
If it becomes the first and only sportsbook in Arkansas it will see many AR residents travel there to place their wagers, and given the fact that the racino is only 13 minutes outside of Memphis, Tennessee much of that revenue is expected to come from out of state visitors as well.
This could potentially mean a boost in tax revenue from sports betting in Arkansas and a loss in potential revenue for the state of Tennessee.
Tennessee legislators have introduced several bills in both the House and the Senate to legalize gambling on sports in some form or another. Although, none of the bills have been signed into law quite yet.
Once this Arkansas sportsbook opens its doors, it may create more of a sense of urgency for Tennessee lawmakers to enact one of these proposed pieces of legislation.