Tennessee Sets Sports Betting Record
Tennessee recently celebrated its one-year anniversary of legal sports betting, and the 12th month was the biggest so far. The total sports betting handle for Tennessee was $375.3 million, and it shattered the previous record.
This was actually the second straight month of a handle record as September saw $257.3 million wagered. This means that not only did Tennessee set a new record, but it shattered the old mark with a jump of more than 46 percent.
Even though there was a big jump in the total handle, the revenue did not set a new mark. Tennessee sportsbooks still posted total revenue of $23.3 million, but that was just shy of the previous high.
Tennessee was able to collect $3.4 million in tax revenue from sports betting in October, and most of that money goes to fund projects in education. Things have not always gone well for the sports betting industry in Tennessee, but more records could fall by the end of 2021.
BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel are the three biggest operators in Tennessee, and this state hasn’t seen a new entry in a few months. That is going to be changing soon, and more options could help Tennessee close in on $400 million the monthly handle.
Wagr Gets Conditional Approval
The Tennessee Education Lottery finally voted to approve a new sports betting operator, and it’s a company that is looking to change sports betting. Wagr has been approved for a conditional license and that operator offers peer-to-peer betting options.
At this time, Wagr was not able to get proper insurance in place for a full launch, but it can start operations under a conditional license. As long as the insurance is taken care of then Wagr could eventually operate fully after 90 days.
Until that time, Wagr can only offer point spread bets, and the maximum bet is just $500. Players that sign up at Wagr are only eligible to wager up to $10,000 until the conditions are lifted.
Wagr applied for a license months ago, but the TEL finally decided to act.
Minimum Hold is Staying
Tennessee made news back in November 2020 when it was announced that there was a 10% hold requirement in place for operators. This is the largest requirement in the United States and it created some controversy over the past 12 months.
The TEL was considering removing the 10% hold, and sportsbook operators were lobbying to get this removed. The hold is going to stay heading into 2021, but operators can get away without a fine as long as they make the correction in a timely manner.
There is currently a $25,000 fine in place if operators do not meet the 10% hold requirement. This new law will allow operators to split the difference as opposed to simply settling for the fine.
