Legal sportsbooks in Tennessee reported strong results last month, hitting $405.3 million in sports betting handle, a new record for the state.
Tennessee Sportsbooks Collect Record Wagers in October
Details released by the gambling regulator in the state, the Tennessee Sports Wagering Advisory Council (SWAC), reveal that the total sports betting wagers in October hit $405,337,575. When compared to the $375.3 million reported in gross sports betting wagers from October last year, an increase of nearly 8% is observed.
But most importantly, the $405.3 million result from last month marked a new record sports betting handle for the state. Besides an increase on a year-over-year basis, the result from last month showed an increase when compared to September. Sports betting handle in September this year halted at $336.9 million, which means that in October, it increased by 20.3%.
Sports Betting Continues to Boost the State’s Coffers
SWAC’s latest data reveals that the payouts considering the $405.3 million handle were $368 million, while adjustments for the month amounted to $2.5 million. The $405.3 million in gross wagers translates to $34.8 million in adjusted gross income for the regulated sports wagering operators.
Given the 20% tax rate on sports betting revenue, the state collected $6,989,818 in taxes from the activity last month. This result completely surpassed the $3.4 million in taxes reported for the same period in October last year. However, the result from October this year marked the second-highest tax revenue from the activity, falling behind only by the record $8.7 million in taxes reported a month earlier, in September.
Legalized back in May 2019, Tennessee launched its legal sports betting market more than a year later, in November 2020. Currently, the state offers online sports betting with nearly a dozen operators offering their services. It’s no surprise that leading operators such as FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars, BetMGM and WynnBet, to name a few, have secured access and offer their services in Tennessee.
Since the launch of the sports betting market in the state, so far, licensed operators have reported more than $6 billion in sports betting handle. To date, the activity brought to the state nearly $95 million in taxes. Currently, tax revenue in Tennessee helps the local government, education, as well as different gambling harm treatment programs.