Tennessee Action 24/7 Receives Temporary License Reinstatement

• Tennessee Action 24/7 is back in business after a judge ruled in favor of the appeal they filed.
• The Tennessee Education Lottery Corp. (TELC) and their suspension of the sportsbook was overturned on Friday as it was said they did not follow proper protocol when suspending the license.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – On Friday, Tennessee Action 24/7 was granted a temporary reinstatement of their sports betting license by Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal of the 20th Judicial Circuit Court, a Chancery Court of Tennessee located in Davidson County. The sportsbook became the first in the United States to have its license suspended on March 18 by the Tennessee Education Lottery Corp. (TELC).

For a week, the company was unable to accept bets of any kind but what hurt them the most was being shut down for half of March Madness betting.

March Madness is one of the highest points in each year’s sports betting season. However, after the judge’s ruling, Tennessee Action 24/7 is back online with their platform being fully accessible and accepting bets on the games.

The Judgement Details

Tennessee Action 24/7 Sportsbook was being investigated by the TELC since the Super Bowl saw suspicious activities being reported. Similar events began to occur on March 8, where the mobile platform would be “down for maintenance” during peak gambling hours, something that’s been known to take place when they’re not following the rules.

Over 23 problems were found by Danny DiRienzo, the investigator for the TELC, which included money laundering, credit card fraud, wire fraud, and bogus accounts.

The sports betting operator noted to the judge that of the 23 incidents discovered, only three or four were looked at thoroughly by DiRienzo. The company came forward to report these issues on March 17, nine days after they took place and only after an employee had already divulged the information to DiRienzo. Anywhere from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars could be involved in the three-day span of when these incidences are known through the evidence to have happened.

This resulted in an emergency meeting of the TELC on March 18 where they suspended Tennessee Action 24/7’s sports wagering license. Earlier that day, the platform was down for maintenance as they started taking wagers on March Madness. Based on prior evidence, down for maintenance when it comes to Tennessee Action 24/7 means suspicious activity and that’s why the emergency meeting was called and their license was ultimately taken away.

However, Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal reinstated their legal sports betting license with an immediate injunction bond to be paid by the sportsbook operator for $25,000. Moskal’s decision was made on the grounds that the TELC has its own protocols to follow for issues like these and they did not follow them for this incident.

“The Court finds, at this preliminary stage, that Action 24/7 has clearly shown the likelihood that its right are being violated and it will suffer immediate and irreparable injury pending a final judgment, or that the acts of TEL will tend to render a final judgment in this appeal ineffectual,” said Chancellor Moskal.

To take away a Tennessee sportsbook license, the TELC must do one of two things, and an emergency meeting is not one of them. They can either hold a hearing to suspend a license or give the operator a chance to go before the Board and discuss the matter from their perspective. Neither of these things was done which is why Tennessee Action 24/7 received their temporary license reinstatement. More will come of this as it needs a thorough investigation, making the license a temporary one for the moment but still active.

What’s To Come?

Tennessee Action 24/7 is happy they’re up and running again and believe the judge made the right decision on the matter.

“We are proud to report that the Emergency Motion for Temporary Injunction seeking reinstatement of the suspension of the sports gaming operator license of Tennessee Action 24/7, LLC has been granted,” said Tina Hodges, the owner of Tennessee Action 24/7. “The Court found that ‘Action 24/7 has a likelihood of success on the merits that the action of the TEL Board was clearly erroneous or arbitrary and capricious under the Act and the Rules.”

Tennessee Action 24/7 could possibly take action against the TELC again for damages to recoup the losses they endured during the week suspension. No comment has been made as to any future action from either side for this case but the sportsbook is now open to Tennesseans looking to wager with them for the last half of March Madness games and beyond.

News tags: Danny DiRienzo | March Madness | NCAA | NFL | Patricia Head Moskal | Super Bowl | Tennessee | Tennessee Action 24/7 | Tennessee Education Lottery Corp. | Tina Hodges