Tennessee sports betting is currently an illegal activity. The state has historically had a harsh ban on gambling as many others in the south but has been moving strongly toward regulating and legalizing online sports betting. The Senate Bill 16 was passed by the committee in April 2019, legalizing mobile and online sports betting. Governor Bill Lee is planning to let the bill become law without his signature. The law is anticipated to come into effect between 2019 and 2020. Sports betting and other gambling will remain illegal at any brick and mortar locations.
Gambling Laws in Tennessee
Gambling in itself was outlawed by the state of Tennessee, hence there are currently no locations including casinos, where any sort of sports betting is allowed. The last sports betting outlawed was horse racing at the beginning of the 20th century. Since the state has been very conservative in its views on gambling. The only forms of gambling legal in the state at the time of writing this are the state lottery and charitable bingo and raffle games. The Division of charitable solicitations and gaming has been managing non-for-profit gambling licenses which are hard to obtain. A new commission is set to be formed to oversee future online and mobile alternatives of sports betting in Tennessee.
- We consider trusted sources such as: The Knoxville News Sentinel and the The Tennessean to stay updated with all the industry related news and developments.
- We aren’t just experts in sports betting, we have dedicated teams across the gambling industry including for casino games such as slots and we have also created an online roulette guide.
- We inform ourselves about any changes to the law by following closely the movements of the Charitable Solicitations and gaming and the Tennessee general assembly
- The Tennessean
- The Knoxville Sentinel
- Division of Charitable Solicitations and Gaming
Most Popular Sports in Tennessee
Tennessee and its capital Nashville are world famous for its rich history in music, but have just as much to offer in terms of athletics and sports. Thanks to its geography and climate residents can enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking the Appalachian trail, watersports on the rivers and enjoying the national parks most of the year. It is home to 3 Major League athletic teams drawing huge crowds, as well as a multitude of Minor League and successfully college athletic teams. Tennessee has a multitude of race car tracks, hosting NASCAR and other racing events and will have its first Major League Soccer Team as of 2020.
National Football League – Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional major league football team competing in the American Football Conference South Division, founded in 1960 as Houston Oilers in Houston, Texas. They relocated and rebranded into the Titan in 1997 and the team is home at the Nissan Stadium in Nashville. They have competed in the 1999 Super Bowl, which they lost against the St. Louis Rams.
National Basketball League – Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies, originally Vancouver Grizzlies established in 1995, moved to Memphis in 2001 and play out of the FedEx Forum. The Franchise is part of the National Basketball league and play in the Western Conference, Southwest Division. It is the only major professional sports team located out of Memphis at the time of writing this.
National Hockey League – Nashville Predators
The Nashville predators were founded in Nashville in 1998 and have since played in the Central Division of the Western conference. The team has played home games out of the Bridgestone Arena since its inception and played its first Stanley Cup playoffs during the 2003-04 season, and advanced to the Stanley Cup finals again in 2017. They have won 2 Division and 1 Conference Title.
Minor League Baseball – Memphis Redbirds
The Memphis Redbirds compete in the Pacific Coast League and are a Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They were established in 1998 and play their home games out of the AutoZone Park, which can host up to 10,000 visitors. The team has won 4 League, 5 Conference and 6 Division titles with the last win being the 2018 Triple-A National Championship Game.
Local History of Sports Betting
As many other southern states Tennessee has had very tough and conservative gambling laws, which are strictly enforced. Throughout the 20th century nothing much changed, exemplified by the fact that Tennessee was one of the later states to introduce their state Lottery. Even casinos, whether state or native American owned are illegal. The few forms of gambling that historically were legal, specifically horse racing have been outlawed for over a century.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1906 | Horse racing is outlawed, joining all other forms of gambling as illegal unless deemed charitable. |
| 2003 | The Tennessee Education Lottery is introduced with all proceeds going to educational development. |
| 2010 | Charity bingo and raffles are allowed to quickly raise relief funds after severe flooding in the state. |
| 2016 | Fantasy sports is legalized, and licenses for gambling are available for registered operators. |
| 2019 | Senate approves Sport betting bill, the house of representatives approves online sport betting bill, Governor moves to pass legislation without his signature. |
Legal Online Sports Betting Age in Tennessee
There is no official minimum age set because, simply put, sports betting is currently not legal in the state. You can not compare it, therefore, with the use of marijuana neither for medical nor for recreational use, as it is not legalized in the state as well. The only related minimum age is that when people are allowed to drink alcohol in public places. It is the age of 21, so we can anticipate that the minimum age to place sports bets will one day also be set at 21.
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Sports Betting Age
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Alcohol Age
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Weed Age
Is Online Sports Betting Legal Outside of the State?
2018 gave a start to a new reform, which more or less banned commercial sports betting in most states. That, however, didn’t discourage some states to take steps towards the legalization of betting. A prime example is Mississippi, a state that registered the first two sports bets placed inside 2 MGM Grand Casinos on Aug 1st, 2018. Even so, the act of placing wagers, still, has to be performed in-person and not online. Those are the state laws that manage the issue of Mississippi sports betting. In November 2018 Arkansas citizens also approved a measure that was aimed at expanding the scope of legal gambling to sports betting as well.
Taxes on Your Winnings: Do You Have to Pay Anything?
There’s no tax on winnings since sports betting is illegal in the state. As the argument for HB1 legalizing online sports betting is that of federal income currently lost, it is proposing a 10% tax on gaming revenue. States, such as Mississippi withhold 6% on winnings from gambling in the form of taxes and impose an additional federal tax. This is similar to the proposed 10% tax to be distrusted within the education budget and general appropriations.
Upcoming Regulation Changes in Tennessee Betting Law
As we have discussed, new bills have been passed by the Tennessee General assembly is presiding over HB1 at the time of writing this. The Bill proposes authorizing, regulating, as well as forming a commission to oversee sports betting in the state. The accompanied Senate Bill 16 has been passed by the Senate, despite the Governor not being in favour of the bill. If both bills get voted in by the majority, he has said to pass them into law without his signature. It seems that online sports betting will become a reality in the near future. It wold make Tennessee the first state to legalize online and mobile sports betting.