Tennessee Sports Betting Is Less Than Two Weeks Away From Launch

• Tennessee could see an early rollout of mobile and online sportsbooks happening on October 30 for small windows of time until November 1 to fix any glitches before the official launch day.
• Three sports betting platforms will be opening to Tennesseans everywhere; BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A special meeting was held on Friday with the Tennessee Education Lottery’s (TEL) Sports Wagering Advisory Council members to discuss the impending launch of legal sports betting platforms in the state which are slated to roll out on November 1.

Typically, the group has met on a monthly basis to go over operator applications and industry details but this was the second meeting held in October as the Council wanted to iron out any last-minute kinks prior to the launch of the market.

The two biggest topics of conversation were changing around the definitions and/or some terms within the rules and regulations of the industry as well as trying to move the launch date from November 1 to October 30, because November 1 lands on a Sunday which is an NFL gameday.

The Happenings Of The Sports Wagering Industry In The Volunteer State

Currently, the TEL has approved four sportsbook operators to begin doing business in Tennessee; BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Tennessee Action 24/7. Of these four, all but Tennessee Action 24/7 would be able to launch together on the date TEL decides to settle on.

Tennessee Action 24/7 has chosen Amelco as their supplier and they have not yet been given a license by the TEL which is why the operator cannot open up their platform with the others as their supplier isn’t presently eligible.

Amelco put their full application in on September 23 and it’s rumored they’ll receive their license as early as a week after the rollout of the other operators, putting Tennessee Action 24/7 only a week behind the competition.

During the meeting, members felt that October 30, the Friday before, would be a good day for the three outlets to open for a “few hours” to get a feel for how it will all work.

While the subject of what college wagers will be allowed is still up in the air (at this point, prop bets are banned), sportsbooks will still get considerable action on other events while members are perusing their platforms for college football on Saturday, making October 30 a good date to fix any technological problems.

Other minor details in terms of changes would be the allowance of former employees of the Tennessee Lottery’s to be employed by a sports betting operation. At the moment, they need to wait two years after the market has opened to be able to apply to work in the industry.

Council members would like to rid this rule from existence before the market rollout.

What’s To Come For Tennessee Sports Betting?

Tennessee sports wagering was legalized in May of 2019. The TEL has been working diligently to create the best structure for a strictly mobile and online-only sports wagering market that would be the most beneficial to the state and sports betting enthusiasts in the area.

With four mobile sportsbooks already licensed, three others that remain nameless are awaiting approvals. There is no limit on the number of operators the state is allowed to license.

For now though, eager Tennessee Titans’ fans whose team is 5-0 for the season, will be able to wager on the November 1 game when they play the Cincinnati Bengals using the state-sanctioned mobile sportsbooks of BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel.

News tags: Amelco | BetMGM | Cincinnati Bengals | DraftKings | FanDuel | NFL | TEL | Tennessee | Tennessee Action 24/7 | Tennessee Education Lottery | Tennessee Education Lottery Sports Wagering Advisory Council | Tennessee Titans