Tennessee Sportsbooks Take In M Of Bets In First Week

Tennessee sports betting launched on November 1.
On the first day, over $5 million was wagered in the state.
Tennessee is the only state in the country that has online-only sports betting.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Within just the first eight days of launching sports betting, Tennessee sports bettors have already wagered over $27 million.

On November 1, Tennessee sports betting officially launched in the state. It was a long process to get to this point because Tennessee legalized sports betting on May of 2019. Over a year later, Tennessee is finally seeing the payout of passing the activity into law.

With sports betting legalized, Tennessee bettors took advantage immediately. In the first day of legal sports betting, locals and tourists wagered over $5 million on sports bets. Tennessee sports betting became live at an advantageous time because it is now the height of the NFL season.

Not only are bettors placing their wagers in droves in Tennessee, but they are also winning as well. The total hold for the first eight days of sports betting in Tennessee was $2.5 million. Of that money, only about $509,000 was taxed.

The Purpose Of Tennessee Sports Betting

Of all taxable revenue collected from sports betting, 80 percent of it is going to education funding. Another 15 percent goes to the state’s general fund and the remaining five percent goes to the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. This means that some money goes back into helping problem gamblers overcome their addiction.

Tennessee sports betting as a whole is overseen by the Tennessee Education Lottery. They award licenses and oversee all sports gambling operations in the state. That is why major companies such as FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM are allowed to operate in Tennessee.

“In our role as the regulator of this industry we are focused on establishing and supporting a responsible and competitive sports wagering program in Tennessee,” said Rebecca Paul Hargrove, Tennessee Education Lottery President and CEO. “These numbers are encouraging as we work to protect the consumer, promote fairness in sports and regulate this new Tennessee industry that provides critical funds for education, as well as local governments and problem gambling services.”

Part of the reason why these three companies are already so successful in Tennessee is because of mobile sports betting. Tennessee is a rarity in that it is the only state that has online sports betting only. There are no land-based sportsbooks in the entire state. But thanks to that, anyone can bet on sports in Tennessee safely and away from crowds during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tennessee sports betting is already having a strong start in the sports betting market. With no mobile restrictions, more people will be able to place their bets at Tennessee sportsbooks.

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Daniel Borjas

Daniel is a writer that enjoys writing to inform readers. When Daniel was writing for The Borgen Project, he liked informing the world about victories in global poverty issues. Daniel is also an avid horse racing fan who has been going to the track with his father for over a decade betting the ponies. When he is not writing about sports betting or at the track, Daniel loves playing video games and watching sports in his spare time.