Arkansas Name, Image, Likeness Bill Dead, Alabama Pitches Tax-Free NIL Deals

Posted on: February 13, 2025, 01:22h. 

Last updated on: February 13, 2025, 01:40h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.
  • Arkansas House Bill 1044, which would have helped colleges and universities raise money for NIL initiatives through online raffles, has been shelved
  • In neighboring Alabama, newly introduced legislation would make NIL compensation exempt from state taxes

Legislation in Arkansas designed to increase name, image, and likeness (NIL) revenue for the Razorback State’s colleges and universities through online raffles is dead.

Arkansas NIL Alabama college football
A bill in Arkansas to use online raffles to fundraise for college name, image, and likeness (NIL) programs has been defeated. Meanwhile, lawmakers in Alabama are mulling making NIL money tax-free. (Image: Shutterstock)

House Bill 1044 — the Arkansas Sports Raffle Act — was introduced last November by Rep. RJ Hawk (R-Bryant). The legislation sought to allow institutions of higher education to raise money for the NIL programs through raffles.

Currently, NIL organizations — with one example being Arkansas Edge, the NIL collective benefitting the University of Arkansas — fundraise by soliciting and collecting donations.

Hawk’s HB 1044 would have allowed colleges to conduct raffles to raise money for charitable, philanthropic, and education purposes, including NIL initiatives. In a typical raffle, 50% of the pot goes to a winner and the remaining 50% goes to the designated benefactor.

In a landmark decision, the United States Supreme Court in 2021 said student-athletes can make money from the use of their name, image, and likeness. The historic ruling opened up the floodgates for college athletes to enter into sponsorship deals and for schools to form NIL entities to pay players to come to their programs. 

NIL Pitch Tossed

Officials with Saracen Casino Resort, one of three commercial land-based casinos in Arkansas that opened in Pine Bluff in September 2019 —  less than a year after statewide voters authorized slot machines, table games, and sports betting in four counties — last fall suggested it might help Arkansas colleges and universities in running their online NIL raffles. Saracen opined that if Arkansas lawmakers want to allow online raffles for the benefit of collegiate sports, the state might as well legalize iGaming with internet slots and table games.

Saracen reps said the casino’s mobile sports betting app, Bet Saracen, is already capable of satisfying online raffle concerns like the ability to geolocate a raffle participant. Saracen officials said the state could tax its iGaming revenue and designate that money for NIL.

The motion didn’t move many lawmakers in Little Rock. Hawk opted not to include Saracen, nor the two other casinos — Oakland and Southland — in his online raffle proposal. That prompted Saracen to oppose HB 1044.

We are all about collegiate sports, and we want to help raise money for NIL, but this bill as written needlessly cut out the folks most equipped and willing to help,” said Saracen Chief Marketing Officer Carlton Saffa.

On Tuesday, the House Rules Committee voted against moving HB 1044 forward.

NIL Changing College Sports

With many millionaires and billionaires funding NIL programs at college football powerhouses in the Midwest and Northeast, schools in the Southeast continue to search for ways to keep their programs attractive to the best high school players in the nation. Legislative news out of Alabama this week highlights the importance of NIL.

Alabama Rep. Joe Lovvorn (R-Auburn) filed a bill this week called the Competitive Edge NIL Tax Cut that would exempt NIL compensation from the state’s income tax.

One common thread shared among Alabamians is their love for collegiate athletics,” Lovvorn said. “Alabama is proudly home to many of the nation’s top programs, and celebrating their success is a central part of our state’s identity. As NIL continues to change the landscape of college sports, the state must work to foster an environment that helps our schools land America’s top recruits. Exempting NIL earnings from state income tax gives Alabama a competitive edge, leading to more students receiving a quality education here and more championships coming home to Alabama.”

For the 2025-26 College Football Playoff National Championship, Alabama is at 14/1 to win the title behind Ohio State (5/1), Texas (11/2), Georgia (6/1), Oregon (15/2), and Penn State (8/1). Auburn is at 80/1 and Arkansas is at 200/1.