If there’s one thing that can be said for Arkansas’ natives, it’s that they love healthy competition. Whether it’s in cheering on their favorite local college team or betting in Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS), no one shows dedication to their team quite like an Arkansasians. Read on to discover why hundreds of thousands of Arkansas’ locals compete weekly to lead their team to victory.

Todd Winkler, Editor at online-gambling.com

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Todd Winkler has been an editor at online-gambling.com for 6 years. His focus is on guides and articles about poker games, blackjack, and DFS. With relatives in New Zealand, he is also well aware of the gambling industry in the country.

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Online Daily Fantasy Sports in Arkansas – Overview

Arkansas was the first state in 2017 to enact a law that allowed Daily Fantasy Sports. As DFS operators would be taxed at an 8% rate on activity, this would guarantee a steady flow of revenue for the state. In 2018, real-life casino table games were legalized at the state’s two pre-existing casinos. Where before gamblers were limited to playing games on video terminals, Arkansas’ residents and visitors are now free to enjoy the same rights that many other American gamblers can. As well as casino gambling, players can also bet on greyhound and horse racing as well as the state lottery.

Despite this, there is still some way to go for the legalization of sports betting in the state after a federal law banning it was overruled in 2018. For now, sports lovers in Arkansas are free to draft their fantasy teams in a number of DFS leagues and bet on them. Below, we’ve listed some of the favorite fantasy sports leagues in Arkansas and how they are played.

Online Daily Fantasy NFL – A Winning Choice For Football Lovers

There may be no professional league NFL teams based in Arkansas, but that hasn’t stopped Arkansas’ players rushing to the NFL DFS League. In the popular NFL Fantasy League, contestants are to build a team of 9 NFL stars and watch them go head-to-head against other contestants’ teams. Points are scored based on the real-life performance of players, for example, if your offense scores a Running Touchdown you can earn 6 points and if your Defense makes an Interception you can earn 2 points.

Online Daily Fantasy NBA –Too Good To Pass

Another favorite sport for Arkansas residents to watch is the NBA – and now they can play it, too. The NBA Fantasy League asks contestants to create a lineup of 8 players. Scoring is based on real-life gameplay statistics e.g. 1 point for every point scored, 2 points for a block. Contestants must stick to salary caps every week in building their team – and as players perform better, their cost rises. The aim of the game is to create the most effective team on a budget.

Online Daily Fantasy MLB – A Home Run

Arkansas players love the all-American sport of baseball, and they love playing it in fantasy sports too. In MLB Fantasy, players are to draft a team of 10 players, though they are limited to a maximum of 5 hitters. Points can be earned in a number of different ways, with 5 points for stealing bases, 10 points given for a home run, etc.

Online Daily Fantasy NHL – An Avalanche of Prizes

While Arkansas isn’t represented in the National Hockey League at all, it is home to a number of minor league teams that are well-loved by local fans. The NHL Fantasy League sees contestants drafting teams of 9 players from at least 3 different teams, awarding points to them for the goals, assists, and blocked shots that the hockey players score in real life.

College Fantasy Sport – The Razorbacks

There are a number of university teams represented in the state of Arkansas, but the most popular athletic division playing in the NCAA division would have to be the University of Arkansas’ Arkansas Razorbacks Football team. There’s a reason that the Razorback’s home grounds at the Donald W. Reynolds Memorial Stadium is one of the loudest stadiums in the country – their Hog Call chant is one of the most famous and infectious crowd chants in college football!

While some states that have legalized daily fantasy sports have specifically outlawed betting on college football leagues, Arkansas allows college league drafting – meaning that Arkansas residents are free to choose any Razorbacks players they wish for their lineup. With the passion for college football being proven in the stadium for decades, Arkansas’ daily fantasy football players are bound to be a force to be reckoned with.

Timeline of Daily Fantasy Sports Legislation

Arkansas may not be the most progressive state when it comes to gambling, but there are elements of gambling that are deeply rooted within its culture. Horse racing, for example, has been a long time favorite for residents, with two racing tracks having since blossomed into land-based casinos. Shortly after DFS was legalized in 2017, moves were made to allowing on-site sports betting at racetracks as well as approval measures for the construction of two more casinos.

Below is a table of important years in Arkansas’ gambling history. For more information on gambling in the state, visit our dedicated Arkansas gambling page .

Legal Daily Fantasy Betting Age in Arkansas

The gambling age laws in Arkansas stipulate that players must be over 18 years old to play DFS, the lottery and bingo, and over 21 years old to gamble at casinos. If a player is caught gambling underage, there are no known fines, although for an operator to knowingly allow underage gameplay can result in punishments ranging between $250 and $100,000, as well as license revocation.

• DFS Betting Age
  Players must be over 18 years old to legally gamble in Arkansas.
• Alcohol Age
  The legal drinking age in Arkansas is 21 years old.
• Weed Age
  Recreational smoking of cannabis is still illegal in Arkansas.

Is Daily Fantasy Betting Legal Outside of the State?

Despite lawmakers only acting on bringing in DFS laws since 2016, DFS betting is now legal in most states across the USA. Due to the 2006 classification of Daily Fantasy Sports as a game of skill as opposed to a game of chance, it’s just the states that have specifically outlined the illegality of DFS or gambling in general that will not tolerate it. These are Idaho, Hawaii, and Iowa which are yet to legalize DFS.

While some of these states may move toward legalization soon, there remain a number of states that show little interest in legalizing gambling of any kind, regardless of whether they are games of skill or games of chance. However, this is not the case with WV daily fantasy sports, as there is a legislative reform that officially legalized the activity.

The Best Fantasy Sports App in Arkansas

If you don’t own a desktop or laptop computer and want to play DFS, you have nothing to worry about. All major DFS operators have created mobile apps for betting, whereas the smaller DFS sites are fully mobile optimized. By using apps, you can make drafts while on the go, making it the fastest and most convenient way to pick your teams. Based on our experience, we recommend using the DraftKings app the most for DFS betting, due to its sleek design and ease of use.

Taxes on Daily Fantasy Winnings: Legal Overview

All winnings from DFS are subject to both federal taxes in Arkansas. Gambling winnings must be declared in your annual tax return as they are fully taxable at a rate of 25%. As for DFS-specific winnings, it is the operators that are to pay the 8% tax on their overall earnings from gambling activity. For more information, visit the website of the IRS or Arkansas’ Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.

Upcoming Regulation Changes to Be Aware Of

As far as updates to Daily Fantasy Sports regulations go, the current regulations are already quite liberal and will probably have no need to change in the future. In saying this, lawmakers may want to change the laws surrounding tax revenue generated from DFS if the amount is too small. This will all remain to be seen and could depend on the revenue generated by the two new casinos that are in development in the state, or if online sports betting is given the go-ahead in the near future.

For the time being, Arkansas’ DFS contestants have a lot to be happy about, as they are enjoying the freedom to bet on all leagues available in the DFS with relatively few rules prohibiting them.

Daily Fantasy Guides for Nearby States

• Louisiana
• Texas
• Oklahoma
• Missouri