Sports Betting Rules Rolled Out By The Tennessee Lottery

• Tennessee is set to become the first state with online-only sportsbook platforms.
• Rules by the Tennessee Lottery have been drafted and revealed to the public for opinions.
• Legalized sports betting could come to the state by the spring of 2020.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Sports betting rules have been rolled out by the Tennessee Lottery. With this new development in the progression of legal wagering on sporting events, the state wishes to become the first to have purely online sportsbooks.

The rules have been published for public viewing and opinions. Over the next 30 days, the lottery will be open to any comments the public has on their drafted rules.

When Will Sports Betting Come To Fruition In Tennessee?

After the allotted 30 days of public opinion is up, everything will be taken into consideration. Should no changes be necessary, then the board will hold a meeting on January 14th to finalize all rules. They will also come up with a date for which Tennesseans will be able to begin wagering on sporting events electronically through mobile devices

Gaming lawyer Jennifer Roberts, who was an associate director with the UNLV International Gaming Center Regulation has been hired by the lottery to manage their sports betting market. After the meeting in January, applications will begin being accepted for businesses interested in operating sports wagering outlets.

It is estimated that applications for licenses could begin receiving their acceptance by the spring of 2020. Original plans were shooting for February 2020; however, the application process takes time which has led to the original timeline being unfeasible.

Currently, there are no rules within the law that state a maximum number of licenses that can be given out. Anyone eligible to apply can do so but the licensing fee is a staggering $750,000 annually.

Gross gaming revenue will be taxed at 20%, which gets broken into a few separate taxing categories. The bulk of the taxes collected will go to the state’s education fund, with 5% going toward gaming addiction services and 15% for other government purposes.

Tennessee will be the only internet gaming-based state that has legalized sports betting. Presently, there are nineteen states that have made it legal to wager on sporting events in one way or another. No state has gone fully online without retail locations.

Tennessee is taking their time with this endeavor because if they’re going to be the first state to do such a thing, they want to come out of the gate doing it properly.

News tags: Jennifer Roberts | Tennessee Lottery | UNLV International Gaming Center Regulation