Tennessee Posts $312.3m in Total Wagers in Two Months

Sports betting in Tennessee has generated $312.3 million over the first two months of operation with the mobile-only sector proving a success.

Sports Betting in Tennessee Posts Solid Results

Tennessee is posting solid sports betting revenue, driven by its mobile-only industry which has collected $312.3 million in gross bets over the past two months, its first months of operation.

So far, officials have collected $5.4 million in tax, based on the numbers revealed by the Tennessee Lottery on Tuesday. Out of these numbers, some $180.9 million in total wagers were generated in December, with $167 million paid back out to sports fans and $3.1 million scooped up in tax.

The numbers are better across the board month-over-month and regulators expect to see even better results in January, as the month is a precursor to the Super Bowl. Then, the March Madness contests in February and March, and some of April, should drive steady results as well.

Presently, the state credits 80% of all tax revenue to education and backs postsecondary scholarships. Another 15% is sent to cover local government needs, with 5% earmarked for the treatment of problem gambling in the state.

As results keep climbing up, the Lottery is hoping to introduce at least three more licenses before the Super Bowl action kicks off, says CEO Rebecca Hargrove in a Tuesday Statement. This gives the regulator and stakeholders fewer than six days to apply and approve new operators in the state.

At present terms of development, Tennessee is expecting to generate some $50 million in total tax revenue a year, which will help it chip away at state deficit and bolster ailing finances in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Even though sports betting was hard to legalize at first, facing fairly stern opposition, a bill was finally signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee, but it took until late 2020 to see the first online operators launch their products.