A deep dive into Arkansas regulation

Arkansas has taken a unique grassroots approach to licensing, which will create an innovative playing field for operators. As of now, there are three casinos in the state of Arkansas, with one more being built. In theory, each of these three homegrown casinos has been granted two licences – allowing for eight joint ventures with online platform and sportsbook suppliers to power their operations.

I suspect, however, that all these casinos will not be making use of their second license, as they’d like to keep the first for market share. This structure therefore offers a massive advantage for homegrown casinos, allowing them to take the initiative in providing online sports betting for the state. This means that a local casino, like Saracen (one of the license holders), can take a big-brand sportsbook and platform, and deliver it in a way that can provide an advantage to the local community.

A landmark opportunity

The state of Arkansas has unique licensing requirements and local brands are determined to ensure that online sports betting becomes a grassroots opportunity.

Bespoke platforms have been given the upper hand over white-label suppliers, meaning they can effectively custom build what Arkansas partners want to offer their online customers. This gives smaller brands the chance to demonstrate their full-service platforms, sportsbooks, mobile apps, and retail solutions. With roughly four million residents in the state split across four available sportsbooks, it quickly becomes an incredibly lucrative venture if a product is good enough to capture majority market share.

As one of the US’s first grassroots markets, Arkansas is breaking a lot of new ground. As part of its grassroots movement, local casinos and sportsbooks are going to be given the chance to prove themselves in servicing their local market. The situation that will soon arise is high-quality platform technology, usually deployed by the likes of Fubo or Hard Rock, in the hands of local operations.

As a result, the industry’s best-in-class products will be entrusted to local brands that can ensure the money and revenue they generate is passed back into the local community, rather than leaving the state as part of a big brand operator’s balance sheet.

How are brands going to compete?

The competition will be fierce – it all comes down to who can showcase more products and features as part of their platform service and, in turn, get them live before their competitors. Technology and the UX are going to be a key part of that, as that’s going to be what decides how much is acquired and retained.

How can these brands differentiate themselves? Appealing to local market preferences, especially when it comes to college sports markets, will no doubt be a very effective avenue to explore.

This is especially the case for local sports. Although Arkansas doesn’t have any major pro league teams to follow, there is an incredibly passionate following for local college sports and regional leagues. Delivering a specialized sporting vertical that provides the local entertainment Arkansas sports betting customers are looking for is going to be key.

In such a college sports-heavy market, it is vital to provide more content, events, and games than the competition. This means a trading team manually creating its own new markets to cater to localized offerings, delivering the most advanced pricing market for the state.

Key takeaways

With a four-million strong state unaccustomed to online betting, customer support is going to be crucial to ensure that sportsbook stays in the hands of local operators. The next 6-12 months are going to be all about acquisition and retention. New customers need to be supported and guided through using online sportsbook, and it is the job of operators and their partners to make that learning experience as seamless as possible.

Elsewhere, the priority is making sure we offer a solid product with minimal downtime and more than enough sports and leagues available to bet around the clock, coupled with enough deposit and withdrawal options.

The state of Iowa, in comparison, demonstrates a licensing model that is a polar opposite, meaning the state is flooded with choice. With a similar population size to Arkansas, there is an inevitable surplus of average products and systems. Less can be more, and this could really be an advantage to Arkansas when it comes to providing a top local playing experience.

Long-term benefits

A select number of operators means a specialized, homegrown brand. With Arkansas’ unique requirements, I believe we’ll see a real boost to the local community and economy if it has access to the best possible tech.

Consistency is key in delivering the best in new technology, features, and customer support. The early days of going live for any operator are vital – they must listen to initial customer feedback in real-time and develop the product accordingly, and any faults or downtime with the UX during the first few days can make or break a brand’s success. Arkansas is already known as the Land of Opportunity, for local sportsbooks – this will definitely be the case!

Brandon Walker is head of Amelco’s US operations. Key to the company’s continued global expansion over the last decade with major partners including Flutter, Hard Rock Digital, FuboTV, and Wynn Interactive, he has been instrumental to Amelco’s North American expansion, with the platform provider now live across 14 US states.