The Tennessee Sports Wagering Advisory Council (SWAC) announced another record in legal sports betting for the Volunteer State to close out 2022.
The December figures for sports betting in Tennessee showed $440.4 million in total wagers from its online sports betting sites. This broke the previous record, set just last month, of a near-identical $439.5 million.
While the 1% increase movement is modest, it does show that Tennessee’s marquee college football game — the SEC Championship against the (eventual National Champion) Georgia Bulldogs — was not the sole contributor to the 7.8% jump in bets from October to November.
Of the $440.4 million in handle, sportsbooks paid bettors $391.2 million in winnings, resulting in an operator hold percentage of 11.2% before adjustments.
After adjustments, the gross income from sports betting in the Volunteer state was roughly $46.9 million — from that, the state received $9.4 million in taxes... another improvement from November’s $9 million.
We also saw a significant jump in Tennessee’s betting market year-over-year, as December 2021 posted a handle of $341.8 million — 22.4% lower than December 2022.
For the most part, states with sports betting usually allocate their tax revenue to either education programs or the state’s general fund. Tennessee does both. Most of the operator's tax bill (80%) goes toward education, with 15% going to the state general fund and 5% toward substance abuse programs.
