The Arkansas sports betting market got a boost in May as the state’s college mainstay, the Arkansas Razorbacks, put together a strong baseball season.
The team’s appearance in the College World Series probably bodes even better for the June numbers.
The sports wagering in Arkansas for May was up 9.5% compared to April, rising from $8,598,226 to $9,410,678 in a month-over-month comparison.
That includes more than $4 million in wagers at the mobile sportsbook offered by the Betly app via the Southland Casino in West Memphis. Southland launched its mobile sports betting in March. The May figure was 29.4% higher than the $3.4 million wagered online in April.
The sports betting net win, or revenue, was $509,253 in May, down 32.1% from the figure in April ($749,811). But revenue from mobile sports betting more than doubled, rising from $183,966 to $458,693.
Another online option in the state, the BetSaracen app from Saracen Casino, launched in May but the state’s numbers did not list mobile numbers separately for May from the Pine Bluff facility.
Arkansas Sports Betting, May vs. April
Total Casino Win Surpasses $51.6M
Total win – including sports, terminal wagers and table games at the three Arkansas commercial casinos – exceeded $51.6 million in May.
Southland had the state’s highest total net win for the month at $25.16 million, barely eclipsing April’s $25.05 million. Oaklawn Casino in Hot Springs reported $13.77 million in win, down more than $1 million from the $15.2 million in the previous month. Saracen also saw its net win decline, from $14.57 million in April to $12.71 million.
Hogs Run All The Way To Omaha
The Arkansas baseball team has been a conversation piece for a while in the state thanks to the team’s strong postseason showing.
The Hogs made the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, knocking out two nationally seeded teams along the way. First Arkansas advanced from the Stillwater Region by eliminating host and No. 7 seed Oklahoma State in the final game. Then the Razorbacks ousted host and No. 10 seed North Carolina in two straight games in the best-of-three Super Region round to advance to the CWS.
In Omaha, Arkansas routed No. 2 seed Stanford 17-2 on Saturday, then lost to SEC West rival Mississippi 13-5 on Monday in a winners’ bracket game.
The Razorbacks face another SEC rival, Auburn (also out of the West Division), tonight in an elimination game. The winner of that game must beat Ole Miss twice to advance to the best-of-three national championship series.
