Gov. Appoints 3 Members To Tennessee Sports Wagering Advisory Council

Governor Bill Lee has chosen three people to run the Tennessee Sports Wagering Advisory Council.

The Tennessee Sports Wagering Advisory Council now has eight of the nine total positions filled.
Only one more seat on the Council remains, but there are enough members to conduct business now.
Kandace C. Stewart, the business operations and external affairs director for the Memphis Grizzlies, is also one of the members of the Council.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – On Monday, TN Governor Bill Lee appointed three new members to the Tennessee Sports Wagering Advisory Council. The group will assist the Tennessee Lottery in implementing sports betting regulations and issuing sports wagering licenses.

Governor Lee’s picks include Kevin Carroll, the Security Services Division director at the Davidson County Sherriff’s Office, Billy Orgel, a Shelby County School Board member, and Hanes Torbett, the owner of a commercial insurance company in Washington County.

The Governor’s choices for the Council came alongside more than 100 appointees to a series of state commissions. The Tennessee Sports Wagering Council itself will contain nine total members. The Senate Speaker, the House Speaker, and the Governor are all tasked with selecting three appointees. So far, eight positions have been filled.

According to the Nashville Post, TN Senate Speaker Randy McNally has appointed former Brian Fazenbaker, a former FBI agent and now an investigator for Nissan, Samuel Lee, the chief deputy for the Knox County District Attorney’s Office, and Memphis Grizzlies Business Operations and External Affairs Director, Kandace Stewart.

Former House Speaker Glen Casada made two selections for the Council before resigning in August. He appointed John Valliant and Tom Lee. Valliant is a Knoxville-based attorney while Lee is a lobbyist and the head of the Frost Brown Todd office in Nashville.

Cameron Sexton replaced Glen Casada as TN House Speaker and he will have to fill the final vacancy. The Council has enough members to conduct business now, but it is uncertain when exactly they will start.

The Overall Status Of Sports Betting In TN

The Tennessee Lottery has begun to take steps to bring online sports betting to Tennessee. Last month, the TN Lottery began seeking a third-party agency to assist in vetting potential sports betting suppliers in the state.

The TN Lottery also has already issued out an RFP for sports betting companies to fill out if they want to conduct business in the state.

However, these are the only two actions that have been taken since Tennessee sports betting was legalized in May and went into effect on July 1.

State officials have been very cautious in their approach to implementing Tennessee sports betting regulations, given the state’s unique laws. The Volunteer State is the only one of its kind that limits bettors to online sports wagering. Tennessee is also only one of two states that mandate the use of official league data for sports gambling providers.

A launch date for legal sports betting has not yet been set. From the pace at which state regulators are moving, it likely won’t be until 2020 before sports bettors in the state can start placing wagers on games from their mobile devices.

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Hasan Nabulsi

– In his career, Hasan has worked both local and state government positions—including the Attorney General’s Office in Florida. On top of being familiar with the legislative process, he has also been researching and writing on the legality of sports betting across the US. Outside of work you’ll most likely find him producing or playing music, playing sports, or working on creative writing projects. You’ll also catch him at Doak Campbell Stadium cheering on the Noles.