STATE TRACKER · AR
Sweepstakes casinos in Arkansas
Current status
No tracked explicit prohibition
We have found no state law that explicitly prohibits sweepstakes casinos here. That is an absence of a tracked prohibition, not an affirmative authorization.
There is no tracked prohibition here to act on. An operator's own terms still decide whether it will register you, and some exclude states that have taken no action at all, so read the terms we link on each review page. See the operators we track
- Sweeps Coins (SC) redemption
- No tracked prohibition
- Gold Coin (GC) free play
- Yes
- Minimum age
- 18+
- Age floor source
- Ark. Code Ann. 9-25-101 (Age of majority: Exceptions)
PRIMARY-SOURCE NOTE
An Arkansas bill to write online play into the gambling-house offense was withdrawn
What the law does
Arkansas Code section 5-66-103(a) sets out the offense of keeping a gambling house1. As SB524 reprinted it in March 2025, the present text reaches a person who keeps, conducts or operates a gambling house or a place where gambling is carried on, or has an interest in running one1. The subsection also reaches whoever sets up, keeps or exhibits a gambling device, and whoever furnishes money or another article for the purpose of carrying on a gambling house1. Nothing in that text names an online game, a dual-currency system or a sweepstakes. The bill underlined the phrase "whether a physical location or online", marking it as an addition the offense does not contain1. SB524 amended subsection (a) only, so its text does not restate how the existing offense is graded1. The one penalty it states is for a new offense it proposed, running an interactive gaming system without a casino license: a Class D felony "consistent with" section 5-66-1031.
What has happened since
SB524 was filed on March 19, 2025, and referred that evening to the Senate Insurance and Commerce Committee2. Its proposed subdivision (a)(4) would have covered an online game, contest or promotion using a dual-currency system that lets a player exchange the currency for a prize or cash equivalent while simulating casino games, lottery games or sports wagering, with carve-outs for a sweepstakes game that awards no cash or cash equivalent and for casinos licensed by the Arkansas Racing Commission1. At 8:24 the next morning the bill came out of committee and its author withdrew it, and the history closes with sine die adjournment on May 5, 20252. Since the bill died2, our tracked event history for Arkansas records no enforcement action, agency statement or court ruling, and no operator we track is recorded as excluding Arkansas players or leaving the state.
What is still open
With the Senate bill withdrawn, the record leaves a narrow question about the words that remain. Is a remote site that sells Gold Coin packages and redeems Sweeps Coins for cash a gambling house or a place where gambling is carried on under section 5-66-103(a), when the present subsection does not say whether a place can exist only online1? A second question follows from the drafting. SB524 would have excused a sweepstakes game that awards no cash or cash equivalent, but the current subsection draws no such line, so it is unclear whether cash redemption matters to the existing offense at all1. Our event history holds no court ruling, attorney general opinion or Racing Commission action that answers either question.
- Enforcement search
- Our tracked event history for Arkansas holds no enforcement action, court ruling or agency statement about sweepstakes play, and no operator we track is recorded as excluding Arkansas players.
- Question still open
- Whether a remote site that redeems Sweeps Coins for cash counts as a gambling house or place where gambling is carried on under the present text of section 5-66-103(a) has no answer in our record1.
Sources for this note
- SB524 (2025 Regular Session) bill text, which sets out Arkansas Code section 5-66-103(a) with proposed changes (Arkansas State Legislature) accessed Sep 28, 2026
- SB524 (2025 Regular Session) bill status history (Arkansas State Legislature) accessed Sep 28, 2026
Sources rechecked 2026-09-28. Next scheduled review 2026-12-27.
What the law says
Current Ark. Code § 5-66-103 criminalizes keeping, conducting, or operating a gambling house or exhibiting gambling devices. Exact offense grading is still being verified against the official code; we cite penalty levels only after confirmation. Failed SB524 would have made operating an illegal online casino (including dual-currency sweepstakes simulating casino games, lottery games, or sports wagering) a felony.
Operators and Arkansas
121 of the 121 operators we track are recorded as accepting Arkansas players, and 13 of those are rated trusted.
No operator we track is recorded as excluding Arkansas players.
Highest Trust Scores among the operators recorded as accepting Arkansas:
How this classification was reached
Show the record, the citation and the method
What the Arkansas classification rests on
- Source date
- Not recorded
- Last human review
- June 11, 2026
- Effective date
- Not recorded
- Basis of classification
- statutory
Where the operator counts come from
Of the 121 acceptance records, 38 cite the operator's own terms or rules, 10 come from a backfill of the operator's terms, 1 comes from the operator's site configuration, 13 are inferred because the terms do not list Arkansas, 56 come from our bulk backfill without a terms citation and 3 reflect site availability with no observed Sweeps Coins program.
Citation as stored
Ark. Code Ann. § 5-66-103 (keeping a gambling house), Title 5, Ch. 66; SB524 (2025) sweeps-ban bill died.
Primary sources on file
Method
Methodology · Corrections · Changelog · How to read a state page
Arkansas questions
Are sweepstakes casinos legal in Arkansas?
We have found no state law that explicitly prohibits sweepstakes casinos here. That is an absence of a tracked prohibition, not an affirmative authorization. Authority: Ark. Code Ann. § 5-66-103.
Does Arkansas's gambling-house offense say anything about online play?
Not in its present wording. SB524 proposed adding the words 'whether a physical location or online' to section 5-66-103(a)(1), but its author withdrew the bill on March 20, 2025, and SB524 never became law.
Which operators accept Arkansas players?
121 of the 121 operators we track are recorded as accepting Arkansas players, and 13 of those are rated trusted. No operator we track is recorded as excluding Arkansas players. The leaderboard filtered to Arkansas lists every one. Leaderboard filtered to Arkansas →
This page is information, not legal advice. Laws and thresholds change quickly, so confirm with the operator and your state attorney general before depositing, or consult a lawyer. Last verified June 11, 2026. Send a correction.