The glide path for sports betting in Tennessee is taking the southern state’s handle lower and lower as the schedule for sporting events slows down.
Numbers recently reported by the Tennessee Sports Wagering Advisory Council (SWAC) show the state's entirely online handle for May was approximately $261.6 million, down 10.7% from April, albeit up 62.6% from a year earlier.
Payouts to winning bettors amounted to $234.3 million in Tennessee in May, leaving $27.3 million in gross revenue for online sportsbooks, which was slightly up from the $27.1 million generated in April. The hold for operators was 10.4% in May, an increase over April’s 9.3% win rate.
After making around $3.5 million in deductions related to free bets and other adjustments, revenue for the state’s online sportsbooks in May added up to $23.8 million. As a result, the adjusted hold for operators — which must average at least 10% for the year as a whole — was 9.1% for May.
Next-door nay-bors
Taxes paid by Tennessee sportsbooks for the month were nearly $4.8 million, which is due to the state’s 20% levy on adjusted revenue. That was up slightly from April’s haul of $4.6 million from legal sports betting.
There are currently 12 online sportsbook operators licensed to do business in Tennessee (according to the SWAC website), including BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel. The SWAC in March approved three new bookmakers as well, such as SuperBook.
The existence of online sports betting in Tennessee loomed over the debate in North Carolina about legalizing the same.
Ultimately, some last-minute tinkering by lawmakers doomed the effort in the Tar Heel State, but the issue will likely be revisited in the future as neighboring states such as Tennessee continue to take bets over the internet.
