A bill to legalize real money online casino gaming platforms in Arkansas didn’t advance out of an initial committee hearing Tuesday, underscoring its stalled momentum in the legislature.
The House Judiciary Committee could take up the bill later this week, but appears unlikely to do so. Any proposal must pass through both the full House and Senate by Apr. 11, a deadline that seems increasingly unreachable.
The committee’s failure to discuss the bill during a multi-hour hearing Tuesday comes less than two weeks after a companion Senate bill was pulled by its author. The killed Senate bill reaffirms opposition in the upper chamber, another sign the bill has no path forward in 2025.
Arkansas online casino background
Arkansas online casino proponents pushed the bill as part of a larger effort to ban social and sweeps-style casino products while generating tax revenue for the state.
The state’s three brick-and-mortar casinos all have companion online sportsbook brands. If passed, the bill would have opened the door for these platforms to offer real money slots and table games.
An Arkansas House committee did not discuss an online casino gaming legalization bill during the first part of a hearing today, another sign the proposal doesn't have a path forward to legalization that comes two weeks after the companion Senate bill was withdrawn by its author
— Ryan Butler (@ButlerBets) April 1, 2025
Arkansas is the only state with a competitive legal online sports betting market but no national brands such as FanDuel or DraftKings. An unusual regulatory structure increases taxes on outside third-party national operators, leading all major U.S. sportsbooks to stay out of the state.
The stalled 2025 iGaming bill comes as a potential fourth brick-and-mortar casino filed a lawsuit looking to overturn a 2024 ballot measure that banned it from opening. If the fourth casino, which would be located in Pope County, is allowed to open it too could have an online sportsbook.
Another roadblock for iGaming expansion
Online casino gaming has higher profit margins than traditional sportsbooks and offers 24-7, 365 days-a-year gaming, unlike seasonally dependent books. This led national operators to push for more legalization, albeit with limited success.
Only seven states offer any type of legal real-money iCasino. Just four – New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan and West Virginia – have more than two legal operators.
Online casinos have proven far less politically popular across the United States than legal sportsbooks. 39 states have approved at least one legal book with 31 allowing statewide mobile operators.
Politically conservative lawmakers in roughly a dozen statehouses to consider iGaming bills in recent years argue online casinos can spark gambling addiction and other societal vices. Politically liberal opponents worry these games will prey on and disproportionately impact the economically disadvantaged.
Digital real-money casinos have also divided the brick-and-mortar casino industry in Arkansas and nationwide. Saracen Casino in Pine Bluff backed the iGaming legislation but Oklawan Casino in Hot Springs opposed it.
Companies including the Cordish Group, which operates casinos in multiple states, argue these digital offerings take away jobs from brick-and-mortar properties. Cordish operates a real money iGaming platform in Pennsylvania.
Other regional casino operators including PENN Entertainment, which offers an iGaming platform in three states, also have mixed opinions on iGaming. PENN CEO Jay Snowden said during a recent corporate earnings call that online casino games are appropriate in some states but shouldn’t be legal in others with centralized brick-and-mortar gaming destinations such as Colorado, where the company manages a casino.
DraftKings and FanDuel, with roughly 75% of the national U.S. online sports betting market share by handle, are among the leading proponents. Other major national “destination casino” operators with strong presences in Las Vegas including MGM and Caesars also support iGaming expansion.
