The mobile Arkansas sports betting community appears to be making progress after one full month with two of the three licensed casinos in the state up and running.
Both Saracen Casino in Pine Bluff and Southland Casino in West Memphis saw gains in their mobile handle during June, resulting in a total figure of $9.3 million.
That figure represents a 47.9% increase, month-over-month, from $6.3 million in May in what’s normally a dormant period for sports betting operators.
The state’s overall June handle was $12.6 million, breaking the handle record of $10.6 million set in March — the month Southland Casino launched its mobile Betly Sportsbook.
Oaklawn Casino in Hot Springs has yet to launch its mobile sports betting operation. It hopes to by the start of football season. And operators like BetMGM Sportsbook are not present in the market because of a state rule requiring national companies to share 51% of profits with local casinos.
Here’s what to know about Arkansas’ June mobile sports betting report.
Arkansas Sports Betting, June vs. May
Southland is Mobile Sports Betting Champion in June
Southland’s Betly Arkansas Sportsbook once again took the No. 1 spot in terms of handle and payout in June.
The Delaware North company posted a mobile handle of $5.031 million, up 14% from $4.413 million the month before.
The operator’s mobile payout, by comparison, was $4.835 million during the sixth month of the year, which also represented a 22.3% jump from the month of May.
That means Southland finished June with a mobile net win of $195,281, which was a 57.4% month-over-month decline for the operator.
The Hot Springs operator contributed $34,490 in tax revenue to the state of Arkansas, which was a 71% decrease from the $118,952 the company chipped in during May.
Saracen Sees Big Jump in First Full Month
The exponential jump Southland experienced in June paled in comparison to Saracen, which posted an online sports betting handle of $4.297 million during the month.
That figure represented a 126.7% increase from the company’s $1.895 million mobile handle in May. BetSaracen went live the second week of May after hoping it would be able to launch in March.
But due to payouts and signup bonuses, Saracen lost $301,416 on mobile sports betting in June after posting a $230,948 loss in May.
Retail Sports Betting Sees Small Declines in June
While online handle was up in the state in June, retail sports betting fell from $3.8 million in May to $3.3 million in June.
Southland Casino was the retail handle leader during the month, with $1.696 million in wagers, followed by Oaklawn Casino ($956,705) and Saracen Casino ($650,216).
The facility also led in retail payout, at $1.719 million, resulting in a net win of -$22,826.
Oaklawn, by comparison, had a payout of $853,546 and a net win of $13,411, while Saracen posted a payout of $620,216 and a net win of $29,837.
