FanDuel and DraftKings online sportsbooks are getting ready to start taking bets from Arkansas sports bettors. Just to be clear, this is not a new market launch. Legal sports betting actually launched in the Natural State more than three years ago.
Up until now, the Arkansas sports betting market has not included any national brands.
DraftKings released its official announcement Thursday afternoon, including that the brand will partner with Southland Casino Hotel. The addition of Arkansas expands DraftKings Sportsbook’s access to more than 2 million adult residents in the state, increasing its coverage to 53% of the U.S. population.
FanDuel Sportsbook has a market access agreement with Oaklawn Casino.
With March Madness fast approaching, DraftKings is entering the Arkansas market as one of the year’s biggest sports betting events is about to unfold. The Arkansas Razorbacks men’s basketball team is currently ranked No. 20 in the AP Top 25.
“We’re excited to team up with Southland Casino Hotel to bring DraftKings’ top-rated mobile sportsbook to Arkansas and introduce fans to our best-in-class sports betting offering,” Gregory Karamitis, DraftKings Executive Vice President and General Manager of Sports, said. “As March Madness approaches and several major sports are underway, we look forward to serving Arkansas customers with innovative features, including our No. 1 live betting experience and a continued commitment to responsible gaming.”
The RG commitment includes DK recently adding the Gamalyze RG Tool. Mindway AI, the company behind Gamalyze, is known as a leader in neuroscience-based responsible gaming solutions. New DraftKings Sportsbook customers have the option of using the Gamalyze tool to help them make informed decisions.
Arkansas sports bettors currently using Southland’s Betly app will switch to the Southland app powered by DraftKings.
FanDuel is joining the Arkansas sports betting market via a land-based partnership with Oaklawn Casino. Like with DraftKings, FanDuel will be operating as a vendor. In FanDuel’s case, it means the company will be supplying its sports betting tech and data to Oaklawn.
FanDuel shared a brief statement after the news was made public. The company spokesperson simply said “We are grateful to the Arkansas Racing Commission for approving us as a vendor.”
FanDuel is replacing the Oaklawn Sports platform.
If you look at recent Arkansas sports betting revenue results, the numbers have not exactly been eye-opening. Looking back at 2025, for example, handle for the year came in at $639.5 million, while gross revenue was just below $59.8 million. Markets like New Jersey and Pennsylvania top these figures every month.
National brands have previously elected to bypass the Arkansas market due to the fact that land-based casinos keep 51% of the sports betting revenue. Since FanDuel and DraftKings are licensed as vendors, the national brands avoid paying the high rate.
