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After three years of dominating the state’s online sports betting market, Saracen Casino wants to expand its Arkansas offerings to online casino.
To break through resistance from legislators and regulators, Carlton Saffa has an idea.
While authorizing online casino will never bring everybody together, almost everyone in Arkansas can agree on one thing — go Razorbacks!
Lacking a pro sports team, Arkansas is a college sports-crazed state.
The chief marketing officer says if the state allows Saracen Casino to offer Arkansas online casino, the casino will provide online 50/50 raffles to support college athletes at the University of Arkansas and smaller collegiate programs in the state through name, image and likeness (NIL) backing.
Saffa explained the idea earlier this month on Victor Rocha’s “The New Normal” webcast presented by the Indian Gaming Association. Saracen is a commercial casino operated in Arkansas by the Quapaw Nation.
“The need for iGaming speaks for itself,” Saffa said. “It makes sense to keep the money here. But what we figured out was the idea that the casinos need to make more money is not a very sympathetic political argument. It’s not that persuasive.
“Then in June-July, this NIL thing came along and I’ve often described it as the caboose we put on the back of this train. But in the last 60 days we have noticed that the caboose is pulling the train because there is so much attention on the NIL component.”
Breaking through Arkansas online casino resistance
In Arkansas, they don’t go through the typical legislative process for online casino legalization.
In 2018, Arkansas voters approved Amendment 100 to the Arkansas Constitution, allowing casino gaming. Amendment 100 tasked the Arkansas Racing Commission with promulgating rules to implement Amendment 100.
Two existing racetracks were converted to casinos and Saracen opened 40 minutes outside of Littlerock in 2020. The Arkansas Racing Commission reissued the fourth casino license to Cherokee Nation Entertainment this month, but it is in limbo pending a ballot initiative.
Amendment 100 permits the Arkansas Racing Commission to expand authorized games under the ruling-making process. This already happened in 2019 when the commission authorized online poker and in 2022 when it allowed casinos to offer sports betting online within the state.
In March, Saracen first requested a rule change to authorize online casino. That process can take place within two months. After a 30-day comment period, the commission votes to pass the rules. Then they go to a legislative subcommittee for ratification.
However, with online casino facing opposition from Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, the Arkansas Racing Commission hasn’t granted the request.
“It doesn’t require legislation,” Saffa said. “It requires a rule change and then ratification by the legislature. That being said, if we get mired down in this process where Oaklawn continues to block shutting off the offshore casinos and helping the NIL, then we’re fully prepared to go to the legislature just after the first of the year when they come into session.
“And this could be accomplished by a legislative act as well. Either one is fine.”
How an online NIL 50/50 raffle would work
Anyone who has been to a sporting event in the past decade probably is familiar with 50/50 raffles. Fans buy raffles tickets and, toward the end of the event, a number is drawn to award half of the prize pool to a fan while half typically goes to a charitable cause.
Saffa said it was actually a state senator who suggested an online 50/50 raffle generating NIL funds for the Arkansas Razorbacks as a way to spark interest in iCasino.
They would model the online NIL drawings off of 50/50 raffles conducted in Alberta, Canada, by the Edmonton Oilers. Those prize pools often eclipse $1 million in a week. Alberta has 4.3 million people compared to three million in Arkansas.
So Saffa figures the Arkansas Razorbacks NIL raffle could reach $250,000 weekly. That’s much more than an in-person raffle could generate. Saffa said Saracen Casino would use a GLI-approved random number generator and pay 50% to the raffle winner and 50% to the NIL without taking a cut for itself.
“This business of going online means, in a state like Arkansas, you can be three hours from the stadium and you can be part of the 50/50,” Saffa said. “Because we know there are more people watching it on TV in Arkansas than there are in the stadium, it only makes sense. It will create a quality ongoing revenue stream to help our program.
“You give and if you win, you make a whole bunch of money. If you don’t, oh well, you help the team’s fund to retain and recruit great players. So it’s kind of a win-win.”
Saracen Casino is a longtime partner with the Razorbacks. But Saffa said the casino would run the raffles for every NIL program in the state that wants one.
Could 50/50 NIL raffle help online casino efforts in other states?
Saffa said he could see the NIL 50/50 raffle help spark online casino interest in Florida.
The Seminole Gaming CEO already expressed interest to PlayUSA in pursuing iCasino with the state legislature in the coming years.
Florida has more than its share of top collegiate athletics programs. Saffa said that the University of Florida already an online 50/50 raffle but doesn’t have it on an app.
With its monopoly on Florida online gaming, the Seminole Tribe could set up NIL 50/50 raffles for all Florida colleges. That might not move the needle in the Florida legislature, but it couldn’t hurt.
Louisiana and Ohio are starting to consider online casino legislation this year. They each have a prominent college sports program that could benefit from an online 50/50 NIL drawing
Saffa also mentioned two states that already have legal iCasino, Michigan and Pennsylvania, saying the online NIL raffle would be a natural fit for Penn State and the University of Michigan.
More reasons to authorize Arkansas online casino
Of course, online NIL raffles are just one more reason why Saffa believes Arkansas should authorize iCasino.
“I’ve told our regulators if the only reason you all want to do this is for NIL, you’re missing the point,” Saffa said. “The reason to authorize interactive gaming … is because people are being scammed right now by bad actors overseas and that money is not taxed. You need to replace the bad guys with the Arkansas-licensed casinos. But the fact that we can raise money for NIL along the way makes it a no-brainer. It’s the cherry on top.”
Saracen Casino has done very well with online sports betting, taking about 60% of the market in the state. Saffa said it has become the casino’s second-biggest revenue stream, eclipsing table games.
“With only three casinos for three million people, there’s a lot of opportunity,” Saff said. “We’re not exactly down the street from a good chunk of people. And so it only made logical sense for us to look to the next step beyond sports betting and take a look at what iGaming might look like in Arkansas.”
Saffa’s main argument with regulators and lawmakers is that iGaming is already occurring in the state.
“No matter where you are in the United States, your state already has iGaming and you just don’t realize it,” Saffa said. “My response even to the most conservative legislators when we talk about this is would you rather an Arkansas company who employs folks, pays gaming taxes and is a good corporate citizen make the money or folks who don’t like us in another country who have no rules, no regs, no standards, no consumer protection and don’t care if players are 13 years old make the money.”
Governor support is key for Arkansas online casino
The Arkansas Racing Commission coordinates all rule changes with the Arkansas Department of Finance and the governor’s office.
Saffa admitted that Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has not been on board with Arkansas online casino authorization to this point.
However, Saffa boiled that down to her not yet having the right information.
“I believe the governor to date has been provided bad counsel and that once she sees that the charitable raffle statutes don’t apply and a lot of smokescreen that a competitor has put up is inapplicable, I think she’ll make the right call,” Saffa said. “And the fact that she’s a huge Razorbacks fan doesn’t hurt either.”
