In its first month of legal sports betting, Tennessee reported on excellent revenues. In fact, the Volunteer State made history for being the state to bring in more bets in than any other in its debut month of legal sports betting.
One could put this record down to timing. When Tennesee launched legal sports betting on November 1st, 2020, it was the height of NFL and college football seasons. This led to Tennesseans placing more than $131 million in handle.
The Tennessee Education Lottery, responsible for sports betting in the state, issued a statement regarding the handle report.
“Our first month of sports wagering in Tennessee comes at a unique time in the world, let alone the sports world,” noted the President of the Lotter, Rebecca Hargrove.
$13.2 million was paid out in winnings (also a new record for any state in its debut month).
Tennessee collected around $2.4 million in sports betting-related tax revenue. The state has the second highest sports betting levy in the US. 80% of the tax revenue goes to the Lottery’s Education fund, 15% goes to state and local governments, and 5% is used for problem gambling treatment services via the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse.
Players may only wager on sports via the internet or mobile devices in Tennessee. They have to be physically located in the state (no residency needed), and should be over the age of 21.
In Tennessee’s first month of operation, four sportsbooks debuted: FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Action 24/7. More are set to follow within the new year, including William Hill, WynnBet and BetAmerica.
Analysts believe that with Tennessee’s growing list of operators, this is just the beginning of the market’s growth.
“The next question is when and if Tennessee will challenge Colorado and Indiana in terms of overall market size,” noted an analyst for PlayTenn.com, Dustin Gouker.
