It’s for you

Mobile sports betting is calling

If you’re looking for something that trickles through just about every aspect of our national life, sports would be a good bet.

Arkansas’ three casinos are counting on it. Or is that four? That whole Pope County mess continues to keep us guessing.

The Arkansas Racing Commission — it’s probably about time that panel changes its name, since it seems to deal as much or more with casino gambling these days as it does with horse or dog racing. Anyway, the racing commission on Thursday authorized its staff to publish proposed rule changes that, if approved, will broaden the opportunities to place bets in the Natural State.

Indeed, it may open the floodgates, but it’s hard to know without the legal action that’s almost sure to come if the commission excludes any of the big sports book services promoted from elsewhere.

This all started back when the state’s voters approved Amendment 100, legalizing casino gambling at four locations — Hot Springs, West Memphis, Pine Bluff and Russellville/Pope County. That amendment also allows for sports betting, but commission rules have limited bets on sporting events only in person at one of the state’s casinos.

The gaming/gambling industry is always looking to grow, though, all the more to dig deeper into people’s pockets and bank accounts. So it’s no surprise the proposed rule seeks to put sports betting within reach of every Arkansan who has a mobile phone. Why bother traveling to the Spa City, West Memphis, Pine Bluff or (maybe) Pope County to place that bet on the Chiefs if it can be done from the convenience and comfort of your couch?

Just like so many have given Facebook and Google a straight path into their personal data, why not grant the professional money-takers a direct line into their wallets? Mobile sports betting is all the rage with the younger folks, too! Got to get them started early, right?

Oh, we know, We doth protest too much. And that’s probably true. Once Amendment 100 was passed, it was probably just a matter of time before the gambling went mobile. But if Arkansas was going to have casino gambling, we liked that fact that someone wanting to gamble at least had to travel a bit to place the bets he wanted.

Now, though, it seems Arkansas will find betting as easy as making a phone call or texting a message. And the poor folks who struggle to say “no” — you know, the big payoff is always just around the corner — will be at the mercy of what Forbes magazine referred to as “corrosive technology.”

The National Council on Problem Gaming says its research is clear: Sports bettors have a higher rate of gambling problems than other gamblingers and mobile betting intensifies that. The 24/7 access and heavy promotion of mobile sports apps is like giving an alcoholic a drink.

Smartphones and the apps on them offer endless entertainment, so much so that it could be said many folks are addicted to their phones. Throw in sports betting and the threat of gambling problems grows exponentially.

The Arkansas Racing Commission knows what it’s doing, we suspect. It knows problem gamblers will always be with us. Surely nobody expects those concerns to hamper the expansion of gambling, right?

But mixing smartphones and gambling will be a volatile mix, like gasoline and lit match. It’s just sad that some Arkansans will get burned in the process.