Tennessee’s Sports Wagering Advisory Council (SWAC) announced that the Volunteer State took in $380.3 million in wagers last month. Compared to January, this is an 18.6% decrease in action, and $100 million less than December’s handle.
Sportsbook deducted $2.1 million, more than January’s $1.6 million, leaving a taxable total of $378.2 million. The state’s 2% tax on handle came to just under $7 million, well below the $8.6 million from the previous month.
Year over year Tennessee operators saw a 16% jump in wagers but just 11% more in taxes to the state.
Tennessee drops while Virginia spikes
Unlike Tennessee (and many other sports betting states) neighboring Virginia reported a record-breaking handle in January. Their $652.8 million in handle was over 70% higher than Tennessee.
Taxwise Virginia raked in $9.9 million, with an industry-friendly tax rate of 15%. Tennessee’s 2% gross tax is tougher to compare without knowing how successful the online sportsbooks are, but if they reported the same hold percentage as Virginia their previous 20% tax rate would have brought in $8.6 million, significantly higher than their current tax bill.
It would have been just $6.5 million at Virginia’s 15% tax.
