The records keep falling in Arkansas sports betting, as more milestones happened for wagering in November.
The total sports betting handle in the Natural State last month was $30,576,009, the first time that the state has exceeded $30 million in wagers on sporting events. That total was up 13.8% from October $26,879,107, which itself was a record that only stood for a month.
The November mobile sports betting handle also exceeded the mark set in October, increasing 17.7% from $20.7 million to nearly $24.4 million, according to the Arkansas Racing Commission.
The revenue, or sports betting net win, came oh so close to $3 million in November – at $2,999,450, to be exact. That was 7.4% higher than the $2.8 million from the Arkansas October casino revenue report, but was short of the $3.2 million in September, the one record in the state that withstood the November sports wagering action.
Of that revenue total in November, $2,308,373 came via mobile sportsbooks.
Arkansas Sports Betting, November vs. October
Breakdown of Arkansas Sportsbook Figures
The Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff reported $15.5 million in handle for November, though the book’s net win from mobile wagering dropped from about $1.6 million in October to just over $1.5 million last month.
Southland Casino in West Memphis cleared $6 million in online sports wagering handle for the first time in October and also led the retail sportsbook tally in the state at just more than $3 million. The mobile revenue was nearly $540,000 – like Saracen, dropping slightly from October’s standard.
Oaklawn Racing Casino in Hot Springs recorded about $2.68 million in handle and just over $250,000 in revenue from online sports betting last month.
Each of the three casinos in the state have their own sports betting apps. No major national operators – who surely would offer Arkansas sportsbook promo codes if they entered the state – are running in the market because of a law that dictates sportsbooks must share about half of their revenue with the casinos. That percentage is much lower in other states with legal, regulated online sports betting.
Arkansas Casino Numbers Decline in November
The three Arkansas facilities experienced declines in handle and revenue for their casino gaming last month.
Statewide casino handle for November was $543,404,989, down 5.6% from October’s $575.37 million. The revenue, or net win, dipped 6%, from October’s $43.8 million to about $41.2 million in November.
Southland was the runaway leader in both handle ($274.3 million) and revenue (about $20.9 million) last month.
Saracen made news recently when it announced that it was the first Arkansas casino offering a multi-state slot, the Wheel of Fortune progressive machine. With such a machine, bettors can collect a jackpot from money wagered on the same game in different states.