Tennessee is quickest state to cross $1B sports betting handle mark

Since the industry launched in November, Tennessee sportsbooks have collected more than $1 billion in wagers. The state became the quickest legal sports jurisdiction to reach the $1 billion milestone in U.S. history, according to PlayTenn, which tracks the Tennessee gaming market.

In Tennessee since wagering was legalized in November, a total of $1,077,844,523 worth of sports bets have been placed. As a result, $92.0 million in revenue has gone to the sportsbooks and the state has collected $18.3 million in taxes. Tennessee is the only state with an online-only sports wagering market.

Only eight states generated more than $100 million in sports bets during their first six months and New Jersey ($928,134,172) was the only other state to approach the $1 billion threshold. Indiana ($794,234,120), Colorado ($669,964,304), Iowa ($270,252,809) and Illinois ($201,869,803) were the only other states to wager more than $200 million in their first six months of operating, according to PlayTenn.com.

In April Sportsbooks took in $172.4 million in total bets, down 13.6 percent from March’s $205.9 million, which was inflated due to the NCAA Tournament. This generated $2.8 million in privilege taxes for the state. The Lottery divides the privilege tax among three different areas: scholarships and grants for students (80 percent); local governments for infrastructure projects (15 percent) and state-funded gambling addiction programs (5 percent).

Nicole Russo, analyst for PlayTenn.com said: With an online-only launch during the NFL season and at the beginning of a month, Tennessee kicked off its sports betting industry under nearly perfect circumstances. The circumstances gave the state a leg up, but Tennessee has still outperformed its expectations. Few predicted just how quickly the Volunteer State, a state with no legal betting history, has embraced online sports betting."

Bettors wagered $131 million across Tennessee,  which was more than Oregon, Rhode Island, Delaware, West Virginia, New York, New Hampshire, Washington D.C., Michigan, Arkansas and Montana have generated in their first six months, during the first month of legalized sports betting.

Tennessee has seven fully functional sportsbooks in the state: DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, William Hill, TN Action 24/7, and TwinSpires with newly added WynnBET.

Jessica Welman, analyst for PlayTenn.com said: "Tennessee has suffered some growing pains, which shouldn't be a surprise considering how little experience the state had in regulating legal betting. Despite the challenges, the foundation is set for what should be a long period of growth. Ideally, the change in oversight will help the market further flourish."