DraftKings and FanDuel officially hit the ground running in Arkansas, launching their full sports betting operations on March 20, 2026. This comes right on the heels of the Arkansas Racing Commission unanimously giving both giants the green light for sports wagering vendor licenses on February 26, 2026. What’s the real kicker here? They finally agreed to that infamous 51% revenue split, something that kept major players out of the state for ages.
That 51% Hurdle Was Real
That 51% revenue-sharing rule has been the sticking point, a real grind for third-party operators. We’re talking more than half their revenue going straight to their in-state partners. For a long time, it meant limited options for bettors in Arkansas, even though the state legalized sports betting all the way back in 2019, with online action kicking off in 2022. But now, DraftKings has linked up with Southland Casino Hotel, and FanDuel is in with Oaklawn Casino, taking over their Arkansas sports betting apps. It shows how big the market is, that these titans finally said, “Yeah, we’ll take that deal.”
A Look Back at How We Got Here
Arkansas has been in the game for a minute, though. We saw the first legal bet placed way back on July 1, 2019, a $5 wager on the Dallas Cowboys at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort. Remember when the Supreme Court opened the floodgates with PASPA in 2018? Arkansas voters passed Issue 4 that same year, authorizing casino gaming and legal sports betting. The framework for online betting was set in April 2021 with House Bill 1942, and that 51% rule got approved by the ARC in December 2021 and finalized in February 2022. Before DraftKings and FanDuel, we had Southland Casino’s Betly, Saracen Casino’s BETSaracen, and the Oaklawn Sports mobile app all going live in 2022. Get this: by September 24, 2024, Arkansas sportsbooks had already cleared a massive $1 billion in total handle. That’s some serious action already happening!
So what’s next? For all you Arkansas bettors, FanDuel is already dropping a sweet deal: new users can grab $150 in bonus bets if they bet $5 for seven days. With DraftKings and FanDuel now fully in the mix, this market is about to get even crazier. It’s an exciting time to be placing bets in the Natural State, no doubt about it.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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