Top 5 Online Casino
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- These facilities have a rich selection of top casino games, such as slot machines, blackjack and roulette tables, a few versions of poker baccarat, video poker, craps, etc. In 2015, a new legislature modified the existing casino law and allowed the state’s riverboat casinos to transfer to land-based facilities on their sites.
- Casinos are allowed and there are two of them in the state, but these are not what most modern gamers expect. There are very few options when it comes to legal gambling in Arkansas and they are limited to charitable gaming, daily fantasy sports, lottery, as well as dog and horse racing. Top 5 Arkansas Online Casinos.
Considering its rich gambling history, the state of Arkansas has a disappointing legal viewpoint regarding this pastime. Casinos are allowed and there are two of them in the state, but these are not what most modern gamers expect. There are very few options when it comes to legal gambling in Arkansas and they are limited to charitable gaming, daily fantasy sports, lottery, as well as dog and horse racing.
Top 5 Arkansas Online Casinos
Is Online Gambling Legal in Arkansas?
Arkansas is another example in the sea of US states with frustratingly misleading language in its gambling regulations. The government doesn’t make it very clear which rules one must follow if they wish to remain on the right side of the law, as well as which games are legal and which are not. This is the case with online gambling as well.
As in most other states, online gambling in Arkansas is not illegal but not legal either. This means that online casinos are not allowed to operate in the state, while gamers are free to gamble with real money online. Therefore, online gamblers usually choose to register in offshore online casinos or use VPNs to access geo-restricted sites from New Jersey or Las Vegas.
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All this hardly makes Arkansas a gambling haven. The state does not earn much from gambling, which is no surprise considering the fact that there are only two legal casinos on its territory. Also, these casinos rely on horse and greyhound racing for a large chunk of their profit, and these disciplines are reporting all-time low numbers in recent months.
When it comes to online gambling, in particular, no law prohibits it. To the best of our knowledge, no gamblers have ever been charged with an online betting-related crime in Arkansas. However, the fact that it has never happened before doesn’t necessarily mean it will not occur in the future.
The state could very easily use the fact that online gambling has not been explicitly legalized to begin accusing people of breaking the law. This is the problem with the vague language in state regulations we mentioned earlier.
Arkansas is by no means the only state that is guilty of this type of behavior; in fact, most US states approach online gambling in a similar fashion.
If you live in the Natural State and you’re looking for some online gambling options, things are not as grim as they may look. Because the state’s law doesn’t specifically mention online gambling, every resident of legal age is technically allowed to take part in it. The law imposes no penalties to those who gamble online since the activity is practically non-existent in the eyes of the law.
All this makes online gambling non-illegal, or what you might call implicitly legal. As we explained previously, this attitude to online gambling is quite common in US state law. However, it is a bit unusual coming from a state that explicitly bans any gambling, even among friends or family members. All you need to know is that as long as you play in an offshore online casino, you’re not breaking any laws.
Future of Online Gambling in Arkansas
It doesn’t seem likely that Arkansas will move to regulate online gambling any time soon. This topic has not been discussed among the state’s lawmakers in recent years. There have been discussions, however, of legalizing table gambling, as well as opening tribal casinos in the state. Whether any movement in that direction would be good for online gamblers in Arkansas is still unclear.
Gambling seems to be controlled quite tightly in Arkansas for the time being, and it is hard to tell what the future might have in store for online gamblers in the Natural State. It is also the only state in the US that has no funding in place for fighting gambling addiction. There is a special hotline for Arkansas gamblers, set up by the US National Council on Problem Gambling, but the state itself offers no resources to gambling addicts.
Land-Based Casino Options
You will not find any large casino resorts in Arkansas. The Natural State currently has only two casinos, and for a long time, they only offered slots, horse racing, and dog racing.
These are:
- Southland Park in West Memphis
- Oakland Jockey Club in Hot Springs
In the last year or so, these casinos have expanded, and they now offer a few table games, including poker and blackjack. In addition to these games, the locations also offer virtual lottery terminals.
Note that these are not large casinos, so if you’re expecting something you would normally find in Atlantic City or Las Vegas, you are going to be disappointed. On the other hand, if you’re a fan of horse or greyhound racing, there is much to look forward to in Arkansas, since both locations have a long history with these types of betting. In fact, they were both initially opened as raceways in the mid-1900s.
Arkansas casinos do not offer any resort- or hotel-style amenities or even rooms. This could be disappointing for those who have got accustomed to large casino resorts that we’ve had a chance to see throughout the country. In Arkansas, these casinos are more of a roadside stop or an evening getaway for locals.
As we explained previously, Arkansas used to be an important gambling state in the early 20th century, with large casino resorts much like those found in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, these establishments were primarily owned by criminal organizations at the time, which meant there was an increase in violence, as well as many regulatory problems. That eventually led to the arrest of several casino owners and the state of Arkansas took a hard line on land-based casinos.
Unlike many other US states, Arkansas does not currently have any casinos in Indian reservations. Players who would like to take part in traditional casino games have no other choice but to leave the state. The best option, in our opinion, however, is to play online in offshore casinos. Arkansas gambling laws make no mention of online gambling, which makes it technically legal and an excellent option for gamers who don’t want to travel.
Summary
If you’re not sure about the legal situation when it comes to online gambling in Arkansas (or any other state for that matter), it won’t hurt to talk to a lawyer. The Nature State, in particular, seems very strict about banning all forms of gambling, even though the law makes no mention of online gambling per se.
It is always a good idea to check the state’s gaming policy thoroughly before engaging in any gambling activity (whether online or in land-based venues). This is especially true in states that seem prepared to enforce their gambling laws, which Arkansas has been known to do more than other states with similarly written regulations.
FAQ
It is illegal to run an online casino in Arkansas, but it is not illegal for residents to play in offshore casinos. Many of these sites have gambling licenses from countries like Dominica, Costa Rica, or Panama, and they treat their customers fairly. Just make sure to select a reputable and well-regarded online casino.
Although it is not regulated, much like online casinos, online poker is legal. Residents of Arkansas can sign up and play on online poker sites without worrying about prosecution. Find a safe poker room with a history of excellent customer service and you should be perfectly fine.
The minimum age for gambling in offshore online casinos is 18. The same is true when it comes to parimutuel betting at dog tracks and horse tracks. You’ll need to be over 21 if you wish to play at a land-based casino in the state.
It does not seem very likely that the state will launch an interstate online gambling market any time soon. This does not seem to be on the agenda of local lawmakers, so we would not expect any form of iGaming bill shortly.
When it comes to the online gambling industry, change is the only constant. This is probably the most important thing I have learned in my ten plus years of experience in iGaming.
When I first started playing online, desktop computers were the preferred platform for playing slots on the internet and Flash-based games ran supreme. Today, mobile gaming reigns supreme and a software developer would be looked at like a madman for creating a game that isn’t coded in HTML5.
While industry trends may often surprise players, those of us in the know can tell them from a mile away.
In this article, I will talk about the top 5 trends that will shape the online casino industry in 2021.
Read on to stay ahead of the curve!
Rise of Action Games (aka Action Slots)
Action casino games are probably the most exciting development in the industry since the advent of the live dealer genre. With modern slot machines becoming more and more video game-like, it was only a matter of time before the two genres merged.
What are action slot games?
A hybrid of traditional video games and slot machines, action titles allow players to win money by wagering real cash on their gaming skills.
For example, BetSoft’s Max Quest series is a gambling take on the shooting gallery genre that used to be incredibly popular in the arcades in the 1990s.
Players use their bets to buy resources in the form of ammunition and power-ups. They then use their weapons to shoot down enemies. The players are awarded cash money for each defeated enemy. Stronger enemies are harder to kill, but they give out larger prizes. In order to win money, the player needs to have a good aim and an intuitive understanding of which enemies to target and when.
What software providers are developing action slots?
As of right now, action games are in development in most large software studios, so we can expect dozens of new titles in 2021. Due to non-disclosure agreements, I cannot name any studios or title names, but you would be surprised at just how many top-shelf names are looking into entering this genre.
What are the best casino action games out there?
When it comes to casino action games you can play right now, BetSoft’s Max Quest series is by far the most popular and widely known. The Max Quest series currently has three entries: Dead Man’s Cove, Mission: Amazon, and Rise of the Mummy. Max Quest Dragon Stone is slated for release in 2021.
Continuing Dominance of Mobile Gambling
Long gone are the days of desktop dominance in online gambling. Today, the vast majority of internet casino games are played on portable iOS and Android devices.
Mobile-first approach from casino software developers
As of the last few years, all major software providers have responded to this market demand by developing their games with what I like to call a mobile-first approach.
New titles are coded in HTML5, which means that they can be opened by any desktop or mobile browser.
As far as design language goes, new titles are, first and foremost, designed with smartphone players in mind.
Further growth of the mobile gaming market in 2021
As the gambling market grows in 2021, more and more new players will be introduced to it via mobile. With game interfaces being tailored to mobile gaming, there is very little reason for someone to choose to play on a laptop or desktop computer over a smartphone or a tablet.
Due to this, you can expect all new titles to be available on mobile out of the box and many old favorites to be ported over to HTML5 for mobile compatibility.
Rise of eSports Betting
eSports is a term used to describe competitive video gaming. Gaming tournaments have been around since the 1980s. The first professional tournaments with large cash prizes started appearing in the 1990s and the 2000s. The 2010s saw eSports going truly mainstream. And by the time the 2020s are over, I believe that eSports will become the most popular kind of sports out there. And it is in sports betting that we will start to see the first signs of this impending change.
Betting on these events has been gaining popularity for several years now, but I believe that it will be in 2021 that eSports betting will start rivaling traditional sports betting in terms of global bet size.
eSports: A tale of continued growth
While mainstream media pundits were completely blindsided by the rise of competitive gaming, anyone even remotely interested in eSports knew that its rise was inevitable.
eSports was experiencing a meteoric rise for many years before the pandemic, with viewership figures for major tournaments obliterating those of traditional sports. The top players of such games as League of Legends, Dota2, CS:GO, Overwatch, and Fortnite are seen by Gen-Z viewers in the same light as EPL, NBA, and Bundesliga stars are seen by older generations.
Quarantine-fueled esports betting explosion
While eSports betting would have experienced steady growth even without the aid of any pandemic, the global health crisis certainly helped it gain a lot of exposure.
With most traditional sports canceled, millions of bettors around the globe were introduced to the world of eSports betting.
And it couldn’t have happened at a better time.
With the average age of a sports bettor being around 35-45, the vast majority of these people have played video games at least a few times in their life. But most of them didn’t know how big competitive gaming has become or that you could bet on these events. Now that a large chunk of the betting public is exposed to eSports betting, the industry has become more mainstream than ever.
Rise of Virtual Reality Gambling
While VR looked like a fad just a few years ago, everyone in the know now understands that it is here to stay. When it comes to VR gambling, several studios are hard at work trying to merge the two industries together.
Studios around the world are experimenting with ways of using virtual reality to make online gambling be as lifelike as possible. The most popular effort so far is VR Casino by ME2ON, which is available on the Oculus store, but we’ve yet to see a killer app that would make non-VR gambling seem like a thing of the past.
Truth in numbers
Despite the lack of a killer app, the VR gambling industry is very healthy.
With the introduction of many new titles to the fold, many of my contacts in the iGaming industry predict that VR gambling could generate as much as 200-300 billion USD in revenue in 2021.
And as more and more households purchase VR helmets, this industry will only continue its meteoric rise.
VR live casinos
Most studios right now are experimenting with VR in their virtual table games. But I, for one, am more interested in the way studios like Evolution, NetEnt, and Pragmatic Play will be able to integrate VR into their live dealer games.
Think about it, a virtual reality-powered life casino would literally have a player interacting with real casino equipment and human dealers in simulated reality. This technology blowing up could, in fact, spell the end of land-based casino gambling as we know it.
Cryptocurrency Casinos (aka Bitcoin Casinos)
Crypto gambling is nothing new. The oldest players in the crypto gaming industry have been around for over a decade and a large portion of large mainstream betting venues do, in fact, support Bitcoin slots and table games. What will change in 2021 is the number of altcoins (non-Bitcoin cryptos) that will be supported by venues and the availability of crypto games.
Current State of Bitcoin Gambling
Today, many internet game houses support playing with Bitcoin (BTC). And some of the more forward-thinking venues also support betting in Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Tether (USDT), and Ethereum (ETH).
Playing with crypto isn’t smooth sailing, however. Only a fraction of the total game library of these website supports non-fiat currency bets. Likewise, in many cases, crypto users are offered worse bonuses and promo deals than their fiat counterparts.
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2021 Crypto Gambling Revolution
Based on my research and information from industry contacts, I believe that the following key developments will happen in 2021:
- Rise of altcoin play. Many venues continue embracing cryptos other than BTC and the other usual suspects. It is very likely that you will be able to place bets in Ripple (XRP), Monero (XMR), EOS (EOS), Bitcoin SV (BSV), Binance Coin (BNB), and even Facebook’s Libra (LIBRA) at many venues before the end of this year.
- More crypto games. As more developers jump on the bandwagon, we will undoubtedly see more classic games introduce crypto support and more new slot games come with it out of the box.
- Better cryptocurrency bonuses. As more and more people start betting with non-fiat currencies and the market grows, venues will have no other choice but to make their crypto bonuses be as lucrative as their non-crypto ones.
- Crypto-exclusive games will proliferate. If you’re a dedicated gambler, you no doubt heard of Crash, a social crypto-only game that has taken the world by storm in 2020. Like many people in the industry, I believe that Crash was just the first game of its kind and that many popular and unique crypto-only titles will appear in 2021.