Arkansas casinos throughout the state made less money in February than January as the sports betting revenue declined. Of the three gaming facilities, the numbers show that Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort witnessed the largest decline in revenue.
The House Fails to Win in February in Arkansas
The casino and historic horse track in Hot Springs won only $1,509 once the winners were paid. To start the new year, the gaming facility won $545,248, according to Arkansas Racing Commission figures released Monday.
The sports betting handle also dropped significantly in Oaklawn as bettors who visited the retail location wagered $2.12 million in February compared to $3.4 million in January.
In West Memphis, Southland Casino Racing recorded $302,847 compared to a net win of $515,743. The handle dropped from $3.6 million to open the new year to just $2.5 million in February.
Saracen Casino Resort’s net win hit $26,645 compared to $120,343. The handle in this casino also decreased from $1.7 million to $1.2 million in a month.
Mobile Sports Betting Could Help With the Numbers
Before March, sports betting was done through ticket windows and casinos at retail sportsbook locations. Mobile sports betting became legal in the state, but it has only been operational through one of the three casinos since March 4th. Southland is the only gaming facility to have an operational mobile platform across the state.
Betly Sportsbook is currently available online for use by users across the state for PC and Mac users. Bettors can also use the app that is currently only available for Android users, but the IOS version will be available soon. Oaklawn and Saracen are expected to launch their online platforms very soon.
Sportsbook Across the Sports Betting Industry Sees a Decline
Sports betting wasn’t a good month for Arkansas, but many jurisdictions across the industry witnessed similar results. January had better results as the schedule accompassed five weeks compared to the traditional four in January.
January also had more sporting events compared to the next month. Extra weekends of football helped the handle numbers, while February had a lack of events. The NBA and NHL had their All-star weekends, which halts the season for about a few days.
With mobile sports betting taking place through Betly in Southland, the numbers could increase again. This could be perfect timing for retail casinos to bounce back as March Madness is taking place. The state has widespread support for their Arkansas Razorbacks, who beat both Vermont in the opening round and round of 32 to make it to the Sweet 16.
Arkansas will be tested once again as the team will face Gonzaga for a chance to move to the Elite 8. Arkansas will go up against Gonzaga, who was the runner-up in last year’s tournament. Gonzaga also has a player named Chet Holmgren, who could potentially be the first overall pick in this year’s draft.
