Arkansas Racing Commission Approves Online Sports Betting

On Thursday the Arkansas Racing Commission voted to approve online sports betting.

Under the rules that the commission approved, gamblers would be able to bet on sporting events online via the casinos in the state.

The way the rules are written, wagers could be placed online via a computer, smart phone, or other mobile device from anywhere in Arkansas.

According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the new rules now go to the state legislature’s Legislative Council Committee for final review on January 28.

Lawmakers on the committee will vote to approve or deny the new rules at that time.

As we have said before, it’s impossible to monitor online gambling to be sure all state and federal laws are being followed.

No matter how many safeguards and security features are in place, there’s no way to guarantee that children won’t gamble via these smart phone apps.

When voters passed Amendment 100 in 2018, they were authorizing casino gambling at certain locations in Arkansas — not from anywhere in the state over the Internet.

This rule change would permit mobile sports betting anywhere in Arkansas. That isn’t what voters had in mind when they approved the casino amendment three years ago.

People who gamble online face a serious risk of developing a gambling addiction, and some research indicates that people who engage in sports betting are twice as likely to suffer from gambling problems.

Arkansas already has enough problems from gambling. These new rules will only make those problems worse.

Bottom line: Online sports betting is a bad bet for Arkansas.