Online Casinos in Arkansas

Arkansas Licenses Online Play, and Only for Poker

Arkansas is not a state that has ignored online gambling. Its Casino Gaming Rules contain a whole subpart on the subject — “This subpart shall govern the operation of interactive gaming.” — and a licence requirement: “A person may act as an operator of interactive gaming only if that person holds a license specifically permitting the person to act as an operator of interactive gaming.” The term is defined broadly: ““Operate interactive gaming” means to operate, carry on, conduct, maintain, or expose for play in or from the State of Arkansas interactive gaming on an interactive gaming system”.

What the rules then permit is narrow, and this single sentence is the most important one on the page: “Operators shall not accept or facilitate a wager: (1) On any game other than the game of poker and its derivatives as approved by the Arkansas Racing Commission and published on the commission’s website”.

That leaves no lawful route for online slots or banked table games in Arkansas. Operating interactive gaming without the licence the rules require is a breach of that requirement rather than an exemption from it, and an operator that does hold the licence is barred from taking a wager on anything but poker. This site does not point readers at operators that are not licensed where they are, and online poker is a different product from an online casino and is not presented here as one.

The rules also keep the infrastructure in the state: “The core components of an interactive gaming system, including servers and databases running the games on the interactive gaming system and storing game and interactive gaming account information, must be located in the State of Arkansas except as otherwise permitted by the Arkansas Racing Commission”.

The Land-Based Licences Are Tied to Buildings

Arkansas's casino licences come from a constitutional amendment. The Department of Finance and Administration describes it on its own page: “In 2018, Arkansas voters approved Amendment 100 to the Arkansas Constitution, known as the ‘Arkansas Casino Gaming Amendment of 2018’ that created four casino licenses.” The definitions in the rules show how those licences are anchored: ““Casino” means a facility where casino gaming is conducted as authorized by The Arkansas Casino Gaming Amendment of 2018, Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 100” and ““Casino license” means a license issued by the Arkansas Racing Commission to conduct casino gaming at a casino”.

Casino gaming itself is defined widely enough to include electronic games — ““Casino gaming” means dealing, operating, carrying on, conducting, maintaining, or exposing for play any game played with cards, dice, equipment, or any mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic device or machine for” — the subparagraphs that follow reach play for money, property, checks, credit or any representative value — but the licence it attaches to is a licence to conduct that gaming at a facility.

Who Regulates

The regulator is the Arkansas Racing Commission, inside the Department of Finance and Administration, which states its own remit this way: “The mission of the Arkansas State Racing Commission is to regulate thoroughbred racing and casino gaming in the State of Arkansas, as provided in the enabling legislation; whereby, the best interests of the State and its citizens are preserved and protected.” It is the body that would license interactive gaming, and its rules confine that licence to poker.

No Sourced Position on Sweepstakes Casinos

No Arkansas statute, rule or official opinion addressing sweepstakes or dual-currency casinos was found for this page, so this page records no sweepstakes status rather than inferring one from the real-money position.

Sweepstakes casinos and real-money casinos are separate products with separate rules, and neither is presented here as a licensed version of the other.