An Arkansas casino is seeking approval to operate an iGaming app, allowing people within the state to go online to play casino games such as slots, blackjack, craps and more.

On March 13, Carlton Saffa, Chief Market Officer for the Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff, wrote to Arkansas Racing Commission Chairman Alex Lieblong asking for a change in the rules to allow Internet casino gambling, which is often referred to as iGaming or iCasino platforms.

On Monday, Saffa told Gambling.com he hopes to appear before the Arkansas Racing Commission on May 6 seeking approval to offer iGaming. The Arkansas Racing Commission regulates all gambling matters in the state including horse racing and casino games.

iGaming Doesn’t Hurt Bricks-And-Mortar Casinos: Saffa

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Nationwide, only a half dozen states from Michigan to Connecticut offer Internet casino gambling. Arkansas would be the first in its region with iGaming, permitting users who want to log onto a computer or download an app to play traditional casino games for money. Other states in the region already offer sports betting.

In his March 13 letter to state regulators, Saffa said estimates indicate Internet casino gambling from the Saracen Casino Resort alone would generate an additional $12 million in taxes annually for the state. Internet casino gambling, or iGaming, generally raises more tax revenue than sports betting in states that have both.

However, in some states without iGaming, casino operators have fought legalization, contending customers won’t visit a bricks-and-mortar casinos and spend money at restaurants and on other amenities including entertainment and lodging if they can log onto cellphones or computers and gamble from anywhere. In his letter to state regulators, Saffa pointed to research showing iGaming doesn’t cannibalize bricks-and-mortar casinos but instead gives them ‘a lift’.

State Rule Change Required

Arkansas already allows online poker, though that has not been made available to consumers, Saffa said. He said the ability to allow iGaming would require the Arkansas Racing Commission to amend a rule to include Internet casino games in addition to the currently legal online card games such as poker.

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“A solution exists by amending ARC Rule 5, which already authorizes online poker, to include other types of table games and slots,” Saffa told Gambling.com on Monday. “Doing so would provide significant tax revenues to government and, just as important, ensure that operators be held accountable by the government. Given that we have seen online operators in the fantasy sports space ignore cease and desist demands from the state, merely attempting to police the matter is not a workable solution.”

Saffa recently made a similar argument on the topic of unregulated gambling, telling Gambling.com on The Edge he opposes a ban on college player props bets, saying, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.”

“People in Arkansas are already gambling in online casinos and those companies are not regulated or taxed by the Arkansas Racing Commission,” Saffa said Monday. “Those companies are not held to the standards the people of Arkansas set forth for operators to include that a customer must be 21.”

Internet Vikings, a leader in providing licensed in-state hosting solutions, announces its entry into Connecticut, offering its services to the online gaming industry. This expansion marks another achievement in the company’s commitment to nationwide coverage, bringing its premium hosting solutions to a total of 24 states across the U.S.

Connecticut made history in October 2021 by becoming the 6th state to launch legal online gambling. The collaborative effort between the state’s tribes and gaming providers laid the foundation for an advancing iGaming market. According to Gaming Intelligence’s report, Connecticut’s online gambling industry continues to prosper, with bets surging 33% in January 2024.

“As the Connecticut market experiences significant growth, there’s a clear opportunity for additional service providers” observed Kristoffer Ottosson, COO at Internet Vikings. “Obtaining our license as an online gaming service provider enables us to contribute to this expanding sector and capitalize on its potential.”

Internet Vikings prioritizes exceptional hosting services, customer service, and reliability for businesses across the United States. “I’m impressed with our team’s speed in securing the Connecticut license within a month from the signing of the agreement with the customer,” added Rickard Vikström, CEO and Founder of Internet Vikings. “Looking ahead to 2024, we’re set to expand our reach into additional states to continue meeting the needs of the industry.”

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Fanatics Betting and Gaming, a subsidiary of Fanatics Holdings Inc., a global digital sports platform, soft launched retail and online sports betting today in Connecticut. The Fanatics Sportsbook now serves as the Connecticut Lottery Corporation’s (CLC) exclusive sports betting partner for mobile and retail channels. For the week, the Fanatics Sportsbook will accept 2,000 online customers with the full launch coming on Monday, December 18. Sports fans in Connecticut will be able to download the Fanatics Sportsbook on iOS and Android or visit any of ten retail sports betting locations to begin their Fanatics experience. Connecticut marks the ninth state for the Fanatics Sportsbook.

The Fanatics Sportsbook offers customers the ability to earn FanCash on bets and is disrupting the sports betting industry by offering the following exciting new features to online customers in Connecticut:

• Building a better sportsbook: The Fanatics Sportsbook app was built natively on iOS and Android. The design, speed and quality of the navigation experience rival the sports betting apps in the market today that were not built specifically for iOS and Android.
• The most rewarding online sportsbook: It’s all thanks to FanCash – The Currency of Sport. FanCash, the backbone of the Fanatics loyalty program, can be converted dollar-for-dollar into Bonus Bets and can also be used to purchase your favorite team merchandise at Fanatics .com.
• From curated to a more personalized experience: Customers know what they want to bet on, and a sportsbook should know it too. Introducing the Fanatics Sportsbook Discover page with marquee games, trending bets, promos and the rewards you want most. In the near future, the Discover page will be personalized to the customer’s favorite teams, sports and markets.
• Search: Search easily for the bet you want and bet directly from the results. The Fanatics Sportsbook offers industry-leading search functionality, including a search bar, recent searches, autocomplete, synonym/alias and deep linking to leagues, events, and markets.
• Live streaming: The Fanatics Sportsbook, in partnership with Genius Sports Limited, was one of the first legal sportsbooks to launch BetVision, a first-of-its-kind live sports betting product that enables customers to place bets while live streaming select professional football games in the sportsbook app.

Fanatics Betting and Gaming will upgrade the ten CT Lottery run retail locations in Connecticut with new signage, enhanced odds screens and brand-new self-service betting kiosks from Suzohapp. Fanatics Sportsbook will be the official odds provider for all CT Lottery retail sports betting locations and offer legal betting markets for all major sports including professional and college football, basketball, hockey, baseball, alongside tennis, soccer, golf, MMA and boxing. The development and trading of sports betting markets will be done in-house at Fanatics Betting and Gaming and supported by a number of world-class trading suppliers. Sports fans will start seeing the Fanatics Sportsbook change over this week at the following locations across Connecticut:

• Bobby V’s in Stamford and Windsor Locks
• Sports Haven in New Haven
• Winners in Hartford, Manchester, Milford, New Britain and Waterbury
• The XL Center in Hartford
• Aroogas in Shelton

Fanatics Betting and Gaming and the Connecticut Lottery believe that responsible gaming is a core tenet and a part of each organization’s DNA. Online customers will have access to Responsible Gaming tools to manage their time and money and on-site retail staff have received responsible wagering training and can offer support services to customers when needed. The Fanatics Sportsbook will also offer online customers in Connecticut a best in class Help Center, chat experience and knowledgeable agents with 24/7 coverage.