Tennessee Online Sports Betting in 2020
Sports Betting in Tennessee: Legal in 2020
One year after the Supreme Court ruled out PASPA proving it unconstitutional, Tennessee joined a growing number of states to allow sports gambling within its borders. The difference between the Volunteer State and every other state in the country is the fact that sports betting Tennessee will be available online only. Despite the 2019 bill legalizing sports betting across the state, we are, however, still waiting for the maiden Tennessee sportsbook to go live.
- Sports Betting in Tennessee: Legal in 2020
- Land-based Betting Operators & Racetracks in Tennessee 2020
- Online Betting in Tennessee 2020
- Mobile Sports Betting in Tennessee 2020
- Tennessee Betting Site List: Legal Sportsbooks in Tennessee 2020
- Favorite Sports and Teams in Tennessee
- What you Can and Can’t Bet on in Tennessee
- Gambling in Tennessee: Since when is it legal to Bet
- Gambling Guide: Tennessee Online Betting
Land-based Betting Operators & Racetracks in Tennessee 2020
Gambling has never been among the most popular habits for the Tennesseans who will still be forced to wait a good amount of time before they get the opportunity to place wagers inside a brick-and-mortar casino.
The state legislature passed Bill HB 0001 on May 25th, 2019, allowing legalized sports betting inside its borders. Although Governor Bill Lee did not sign the Tennessee Sports Gaming Act himself, it became law in spring 2019, cleaning the way for any operator intending to join the new market to act.
Normally, online-only is a tougher proponent to pass than land-based betting, but this is how the Volunteer State legislature dealt the matter. The Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation (TELC) was granted oversight and is in full charge of the process. When it adopted the ultimate set of sports betting regulations in April 2020, it was clear brick-and-mortar casinos are still not welcome in the Volunteer State. The bettors will thus be forced to place wagers through online channels only, at least for now.
It remains to be seen whether or not such an approach will harm the state industry. Some people argue sports gambling Tennessee would never reach its full potential without brick-and-mortar casinos. The reports from other states reveal the opposite, though. Online and mobile sports betting site accounts have brought much greater revenue in states where land-based betting is offered. The ratio is as big as 90% to 10% in favor of online betting in New Jersey for example.
It will be very interesting to see whether the structure of legal sports betting in Tennessee will be followed by other states who are yet to clarify their position after the 2018 PASPA repealing.
Online Betting in Tennessee 2020
As mentioned above, Tennessee sports betting is limited to online and mobile platforms exclusively. Except for only a few uncertainties on the matter, we have a good amount of information on how online sports betting in Tennessee will work moving forward. Tennessee online sports betting bill was introduced by Rep. Rick Staples in November 2018. It passed the House and the Senate in spring 2019. Several amendments have been added since and it seems everything is set for the first online sportsbooks to enter the Volunteer State market in the third quarter of 2020.
As per the state law, the number of operators who can apply for the Tennessee betting license is unlimited. Nevertheless, bountiful catches, namely high tax rates, will no doubts discourage some candidates and affect the overall density of the market. To join it, sportsbooks will need to pay a $750,000 annual fee, a 20% tax rate, and a mandatory 10% hold.
This is one of the highest tax rates in the United States and it comes in conjunction with the mandatory minimum hold requirement. Compared to the likes of New Jersey and Nevada (from 5.5 to 7%), such a high mandatory hold will make the job significantly tougher for any sports betting operator in the Volunteer State. It will clearly make the pricing scheme way less favorable for Tennessee bettors. To briefly explain it, a sportsbook that accepts $2 million in bets is required to have at least $200,000 revenue. The maximum a gambler can win in such circumstances is 90% of his/her initial stake. What does it mean for regular bettors? They will most likely have to bet $125 for a $100 win.
The operators will also have to buy official league data from professional competitions to provide live betting services (accept in-game wagers).
Mobile Sports Betting in Tennessee 2020
The Volunteers will most likely have the luxury of placing wagers on their favorite sports teams from the comfort of their homes through any portable device as of the latter stages of the 2020 summer. Whilst there are no accurate dates in regards to when we can expect the inaugural Tennessee sports betting app to be launched since the United States are still wrestling the COVID-19 pandemic, we would be extremely surprised to see the start of the new NFL season without an official legal sportsbook in the Volunteer State.
The above-discussed criteria operators are required to meet to provide online sports betting in Tennessee is applied to mobile wagering as well. The market is still very attractive given the number of high-profile professional sports teams in the state. We can probably expect the giants like DraftKings, FanDuel, Bet365, William Hill, BetMGM, or Ceasars to be the first to provide mobile sports betting in Tennessee.
Tennessee Betting Site List: Legal Sportsbooks in Tennessee 2020
| Operator | Landbased Partner |
|---|---|
| BetMGM | Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa |
| DraftKings Sportsbook | Resorts Casino Hotel Atlantic City |
Favorite Sports and Teams in Tennessee
As of 2020, four major professional sports teams call Tennessee their home. Nashville SC have just made their debut in the elite tier of US professional soccer in early 2020. Unfortunately, the coronavirus outbreak shut down the entire competition for several months. The league debutants are yet to clinch their maiden point having suffered back-to-back narrow losses to Atlanta United and Portland Timbers in the opening two rounds of the campaign.
The other three TN pro teams have a much longer history. Football betting still has the prime across the whole country and there are no doubts NFL betting will be massive in Tennessee whose Titans had an extraordinary play-offs run to the AFC Championship game in the 2019 campaign. Rejuvenated Ryan Tannehill and one of the best rushers in the competition, Derrick Henry, were the main catalysts for amazing success in the previous term.
The Ravens dethroned New England Patriots and stunned Baltimore Ravens (the main favorites) on the road before falling to the eventual Super Bowl winners Chiefs in the AFC Championship game in Kansas City. The Titans are set for another strong campaign in 2020. We can only imagine the euphoria in and around Nissan Stadium when the fans will finally be able to place wagers on the Titans' affairs.
Euphoria is just the right word to describe the sudden rise of Nashville Predators in their latest NHL adventures. The Volunteers have never had a traditional ice-hockey fan base, but you simply have to visit Bridgestone Arena to feel the breathtaking atmosphere created by one of the most raucous crowds in the competition. The Predators are yet to clinch their inaugural Stanley Cup trophy, but they’ve been Western Conference champions in the 2016/17 season. One year later they’ve won their maiden Presidents’ Cup title.
Finally, NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies will no doubts be a regularly-taken wagering option in Tennessee, especially now when the team led by fantastic Ja Morant shocked most heavyweights on the West.
What you Can and Can’t Bet on in Tennessee
Most states have imposed harsh restrictions on college betting, but Tennessee is not among them. The local sportsbook will be allowed to accept wagers on college football and basketball, as well as any other non-professional sport. Punters will even have the opportunity to predict the outcomes of matches played by local college teams. March Madness and College Football Playoff, as well as the competitions’ regular seasons, will be up for grabs for sports bettors within the state's borders. This, however, works only for pre-game bets. In-play wagering on college sports events will not be allowed.
When it comes to daily fantasy sports, the Volunteer State was the third in the whole country to allow a DFS law in 2016. It means the industry-heavyweights such as DraftKings and FanDuel are already present in Tennessee and more than welcome to expand the business lines by offering sports betting in the state. Obviously, the bettors will be in for a tremendous range of markets from numerous sports, even those popular overseas.
Gambling in Tennessee: Since when is it legal to Bet
Tennessee has never been a gambling-friendly state. Its betting history brings us back to 1804 when the first form of horse racing emerged there. Tennessee's Gallatin was the state's maiden racetrack. It was followed by nine more by 1839 as the pastime quickly spread out among the Tennesseans. Nonetheless, the Volunteers were forced to discontinue their new hobby at the turn of the century as the State General Assembly passed anti-gambling law in 1906. The decision completely destroyed the horse racing market for years, best proving how accurate the maiden sentence of the paragraph is. The government was harsh towards any kind of gambling. They closed several hundreds of illegal bingo venues in 1989.
The beginning of the new century was marked by the initial moves towards at least some sort of liberalization on the matter. The Tennessee Lottery became the inaugural legal form of gambling in the Volunteer State since the aforementioned pari-mutuel betting in 2002. It was officially launched one year later and proved out to be one of the most profitable lotteries in the United States in no time. It broke a record with $1.48 billion in ticket sales in 2015.
The State Legislature decided to legalize charitable gaming in 2010 as a way to help towns recover faster from floods and tornadoes. Licensed charities were allowed to organize one gambling event per year by the Tennessee Charitable Gaming Implementation Law. This form of gambling has also significantly contributed to raising funds for the state.
Based on the state’s gambling history, everyone was rather shocked to see Tennessee embracing daily fantasy sports before most other states in the country in 2016. They legalized sports betting three years later, but the casino and poker aficionados will still have to be patient as there are no signs of any moves regarding the introduction of these gambling forms whatsoever.
Gambling Guide: Tennessee Online Betting
In theory, yes, but we still have to wait for the first operators to pop up in the state. The law made online betting in Tennessee legal in the spring of 2019. The first betting sites had been expected to emerge after the Super Bowl 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic messed up their plans.
The clear date is not set but we would be shocked not to see the inaugural operators in business before the kick-off to the new NFL season. The range of possibilities is huge, especially after the magnificent play-offs run the Titans had in the previous term.
No! There is not even a single commercial or tribal casino in the Volunteer State. All forms of land-based gambling, except for lottery, are strictly forbidden by state law. There are no signs of any improvements in this field and online betting is the only option for the Tennesseans at the moment.
Anyone older than 21 years of age physically located within the state borders is eligible to register an account at an online betting platform (as soon as it appears). Sportsbooks will be obligated to utilize geolocation software to determine your location.
Legal Tennessee sportsbooks will provide the highest level of safety, unlike offshore betting sites. Paypal, Skrill, online banking transfer, prepaid cards, and e-checks are among the most convenient payment options we expect the Volunteer State operators to offer to their customers.
The bettors will be able to place wagers on all professional and all college sports events. There are no restrictions whatsoever when it comes to pre-game picks. The only restriction is bound to in-game betting as such form will not be allowed for college sports.
Yes, you will be able to place wagers on your favorite sports and markets from the comfort of your home. Online and mobile betting is completely legal within the state’s borders and you’ll only need a proper Internet connection to get going. There are no restrictions regarding mobile betting in particular.
Yes! The Volunteer State was the third state in the whole country to legalize daily fantasy sports in 2016. Such a decision was a huge surprise knowing Tennessee’s gambling history. The giants like FanDuel and DraftKings are both already present in the state and we can expect them to gain the sports betting license here soon.
The Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation is in control of the state’s online gambling. Anyone who wants to join the market and provide sports betting services in the Volunteer State will have to pay a $750,000 annual license fee, pay a 20% gross gaming revenue tax, meet the mandatory 10% minimum hold requirement, and buy official league data from professional sports competitions.
Volunteer State is home to four major league teams. The Titans had an extraordinary run in the 2020 NFL playoff run, the Predators won the Western Conference in the NHL 2016/17 campaign, the Grizzlies (led by Ja Morant) look great on the West in the NBA, while Nashville SC are set to leave a deep mark having debuted in the MLS in 2020.
