Guide to Arkansas Gambling Age: Casinos, Sports Betting & More

Arkansas is one of the most exciting states in the south at the moment in terms of gambling laws. Having traditionally leant on the down-home traditional values when it comes to gambling the Natural State’s recent 2018 casino referendum has opened up the state to many new forms of gambling.

In this page we will give you a good overview of all legal forms of gambling in the state and the legal gambling age Arkansas requires for each – which does vary. For example, individuals must be 21 years old to enter a land-based casino, but they only need to be 18 to purchase a lottery ticket. Check out this table for the Arkansas Gambling Age for each gaming activity.

In the table above we have listed the legal gambling age for each legal form of gambling in AR – if the age isn’t listed then that particular form of gambling is not yet legal in the state. As you can see the legal gambling age for entry to casino’s and poker rooms is higher than that required for sports betting, bingo and lottery.

We will go into further detail about each form of legalized gambling in Arkansas in the following sections on this page, in these sections we will give more detail about the legal Arkansas gambling age, the current legality of that form of betting and any further legal developments that might be on the horizon.

Casino Age in Arkansas

In November of 2018 the residents of Arkansas voted via referendum for one of the most significant changes to the state’s constitutional laws regarding gambling. In this referendum residents approved the state to issue licenses for land-based casinos. This is a significant opening up of what the previously considered archaic gambling laws of Arkansas.

Through the constitutional amendment two already established racing tracks were able to pivot in their offering to become racino’s, meaning they are now able to offer traditional casino games alongside the races they host. The amendment also allowed two additional casinos be established within Arkansas. Since the referendum passed only one of these two casinos have been established, bringing the total number of casinos in Arkansas to three.

The legal casino age in Arkansas for those wanting to gamble at the new casino facilities in the states is 21.The casino age limit is most likely set at 21 because the legal age for drinking in the US is 21, most casinos serve alcohol so it makes sense that the casino entry age would mirror that.

What are The Casinos In Arkansas that accept 18 year Olds?

Like most other states in the US, there are no casinos in Arkansas that allow entry to 18 year olds. Towing the line with the legal drinking age in the US everyone who wants to gamble at a casino must be over the age of 21.

18 year olds should not be disheartened though, 18 year olds are able to gamble at bingo charity bingo games across the state of Arkansas. Bingo is allowed as a legal form of gambling across Arkansas so long as it is being played for the benefit of a charity or non-profit organization, this was legalized in state legislature in 2007 and governed by the ‘Charitable Gambling’ legislation.

To help players find the three casinos located in Arkansas, that allow entry for those above the age of 21, we’ve listed the casino’s addresses in the table below.

Sports Betting In Arkansas

Within the 2018 state legislation developments, Arkansas legalized land-based sports betting, which can now be undertaken at the state’s two racinos via electronic machines. The legal betting age in Arkansas for participating in this form of gambling is 18.

Another form of sports betting that has long been legal in the state of Arkansas is pari-mutuel betting on horse races. Arkansas residents have a long history of being avid horse race supporters and the pari-mutuel betting on them was one of the first forms of gambling legalized in the state. Gambling on greyhound racing is also legal, however greyhound racing in Arkansas is being wound down with a view that it will cease to exist in the state by 2022.

While the move to legalize in person sports betting is still a recent decision by the Arkansas state legislature, there are murmurings that the state could soon also legalize online sports betting. The move to legalize land-based sports betting was seen by some as a response to neighboring state Mississippi who had legalized it and through Arkansas not doing so they were missing out on the tax revenue associated with it. With neighboring states such as Mississippi and Tennessee recently legalizing online sports betting it is probably only a matter of time before it is legalized in Arkansas as well.

Online Gambling Age in Arkansas

One area of online gambling that Arkansas has not budged on is online gambling. While there have been significant developments in land-based gambling, online gambling has been all but ignored within this legislation and remains illegal. As online gambling remains illegal there is no legal online gambling age for Arkansas. For now, the only online gambling residents of Arkansas can enjoy is Daily Fantasy Sports, which we will discuss in more detail later in this page.

Some states do allow online gambling, on this website we detail the legal status of each form of gambling, and the gambling age required for each on each state’s dedicated page. On each page we have provided an easy to read table table that outlines all of this information.

While online gambling is allowed in some other states in the US, but players should be advised that they will be unable to access these online casinos or gambling platforms as their computer IP address will stop players from accessing it. There are also some offshore websites that players may be able to access, however it is not advised that Arkansas residents gamble on these platforms as they will not be covered by any US consumer protection laws due to the fact that these platforms are not registered in the US.

Online Poker Gambling Age in Arkansas

While bricks and mortar casinos have recently been legalized in Arkansas, poker rooms have not. The legislation that was passed by the state legislature very clearly limited the number of land-based casinos or racinos that can be established within Arkansas is limited to 4 in total and this did not allow for the establishment of separate bricks and mortar poker rooms. The same is true for online poker in Arkansas, as online gambling as a whole is almost completely illegal in Arkansas so too are online poker rooms.

Daily Fantasy Sports in Arkansas

The only legal form of online gambling currently permitted in Arkansas is Daily Fantasy Sports. Arkansas residents are famously competitive and passionate about their sports, so it is only fitting that they led the way with legalizing Daily Fantasy Sports. In 2017 Arkansas was the first state to pass a law that legalized Daily Fantasy Sports allowing its residents over the age of 21 to participate in this online gambling phenomenon.

The rationale for legalizing Daily Fantasy Sports was that the state could then levy an 8% tax on the game operators for operating within Arkansas – which has turned into a good revenue generator for the state. Due to the success of Daily Fantasy Sports and the recent land-based casino developments there have been recent moves to legalize online sports betting within Arkansas, however a recent bill moving to legalize it failed to pass through the legislature because the taxes it proposed to levy on the online operators was deemed too high.

Legal Age to Play the Lottery in Arkansas

Arkansas does have a legal state-wide lottery, the legal age for participating in the lottery is 18. In 2009 Arkansas became the 33rd state in the US to legalize a state-wide lottery, which was set up to benefit state charities, scholarships and non-profits. Since its legalization the lottery has become hugely popular across the state.

The official state lottery is known as the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery, and it offers a range of lottery games such as scratch cards, Power Ball and progressive jackpots. Since the lottery’s inception it has provided over $930 million towards college scholarships for in-state universities and colleges.

One area that Arkansas hasn’t progressed into is offering an online lottery. While some neighboring states have modernized into offering an online lottery platform for their residents, Arkansas has so far stood strong on its anti online gambling stance and hasn’t made moves to take the lottery online. However, this doesn’t mean that it will never go online – judging by the state’s recent legislative developments in relation to gambling further legislative changes might be on the horizon.

Arkansas Gambling Laws & Future Outlook

Arkansas gambling laws are enshrined within state legislature under Title 5 which addresses Criminal Offenses and Title 23 with addresses Public Utilities and Regulated Industries. Under these titles gambling is understood to be ‘betting any money or any valuable thing on any game of hazard or skill’. This definition is considered to encompass all traditional casino games, sports betting, pari-mutuel betting, lottery and Daily Fantasy Sports.

Each recent legislative amendment that has been passed, including the 2018 bill that allows land-based casinos and the 2017 legalization of Daily Fantasy Sports is included within the relevant state legislative title. Any individual who wants to read the full legislation can access it through visiting the Arkansas State Legislature online where all legislature is searchable.

The gambling market within Arkansas is incredibly lucrative, which is likely to be why the state legislature recently legalized land-based gambling within the state. For years residents of Arkansas have been crossing the boarders to Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma to gamble and Arkansas has been missing out on the taxes generated through this gambling activity, not anymore though now that there has been significant legislative change allowing lottery, Daily Fantasy Sports, land-based sports betting and casinos/racinos.

While there is no specific ‘gambling tax’ stipulated in state legislation, any winnings players might obtain through any legal form of gambling is subject to personal income tax. Winnings that players obtain need to be declared on any personal income filings and will be subject to a 25% personal income tax. Arkansas state also levies large operational taxes on gambling operators in the state, as discussed above this is likely why the state has legalized so many forms of gambling.

With the recent legislative changes put in place over the last ten years in Arkansas the state has developed from a state with an incredibly conservative view on gambling to one which could be considered one of the most liberal in the south. With three casinos currently operating in the Natural State and legislation allowing another one to open, along with a legalized lottery, sports betting, Daily Fantasy Sports and bingo gambling punters are spoilt for choice in Arkansas.

As for future developments, the next stage in opening up gambling in Arkansas would be the legalization of online sports betting. There are definite signs that the state legislature is looking to legalize it soon, with a bill that would have legalized online sports betting only falling down at the last reading in 2019 as it would have taxed operators to highly. So hopefully the state can agree on a fair tax rate for online sports betting operators and Arkansas will start the move towards legalizing online gambling.

Frequently Asked Questions

We hope that we have been able to impart a good overview of the legal forms of gambling currently allowed in Arkansas, while also educating you on the legal gambling ages required for each form of gaming. If you have any outstanding questions, we have answered some of the most frequently asked questions below. To see other legal ages around the US, check out our page on US gambling ages.