State of Play in Tennessee
Sports Betting in Tennessee
Tennessee’s online sports betting industry went live on November 1, 2020. The Volunteer State was the first U.S. market to launch as an online-only sports betting industry.
You can register, deposit, place bets, and withdraw funds from Tennessee’s online sportsbooks from anywhere in the state. The immediate future doesn’t hold plans for land-based casinos in Tennessee, so expect the state’s online sports betting market to remain mobile-only for now.
Daily fantasy sports and sports betting are the only legal forms of online gambling in Tennessee. In both categories, all legal operators are approved and regulated by the state’s Sports Wagering Advisory Council.
Sportsbooks in Tennessee
Q&A
- How old do you have to be to bet online in Tennessee? 21 years of age. Tennessee has a legal gambling age of 21 years, which is pretty standard across the board in the United States.
- Can I bet on college sports in Tennessee? Yes, the Tennessee sports betting law does allow for betting on college sporting events. College basketball and college football are two of the biggest betting markets in the state, especially when it comes to SEC football.
- Is DraftKings offering sports betting apps In Tennessee? Yes, DraftKings plays a prominent role in the legal online betting scene in the Volunteer State. Along with offering DFS options for several years, DraftKings is also one of the legal sports betting sites that has been approved in the state.
- Is the Barstool Sportsbook app available in Tennessee? Yes. The Barstool Sportsbook app was able to launch in Tennessee just before the 2021 NFL season, giving the state eight options. Barstool Sportsbook is a product of Penn National Gaming and the Barstool Sports brand.
- How do I get paid when I win at Tennessee legal betting sites? You get paid by visiting the sportsbook that you have earned your winnings at. All of the information that you need to get paid can be found under the banking section of that online sports betting site. Once you are on the list of available withdrawal options, you need to choose the right one for you.
Methodology
Tennessee Online Betting
When it comes to sports betting in the state of Tennessee, all of the action comes from online sportsbooks. Tennessee is a state without casinos or poker rooms, and you won’t find any retail sportsbooks available either.
Daily fantasy sports and online sports betting are the only two online betting options in Tennessee. DFS sites have been around since 2016, and the first online sportsbooks launched on November 1, 2020.
Tennessee has some strict laws regarding gambling, but pressure from citizens and the desire for new revenue sources forced the changing of some laws. There is still a chance that online casinos and online poker will be available at some
point, but that will be way down the road. Since there are no retail or land-based options in the state, new customers can complete the entire registration process online. The state’s Sports Wagering Advisory Council regulates the Tennessee
sports betting industry.
Tennessee Legalization Timeline
The topic of sports betting was first brought up at the beginning of 2019 by Tennessee Rep. Rick Staples. Most states have had to go through several bills before getting one approved, but that wasn’t the case in the Volunteer State.
HB 1 quickly passed through the Senate before the debate started to get going in the House. Ultimately the bill was passed and sent to Governor Bill Lee’s desk for his signature.
Instead of signing the bill into law, Lee chose to let the bill become law without his signature, which came in June 2019. Legal online sports betting officially launched on November 1, 2020, with four operators ready to go on that first day.
HB 1 requires operators to pay a $750,000 licensing fee each year, and the revenue is also taxed at a rate of 20 percent. A 10% hold is also included in the law, which is by far the highest in the United States.
Retail betting was never discussed when trying to approve or launch the new industry, and that hasn’t changed. All of the wagers continue to be conducted online, but new options have emerged.
Online Sports Betting In Tennessee
When sports betting officially launched in Tennessee on November 1, 2020, there were four sportsbooks ready to go. BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel were three big names ready to go from the first day, and a local product, Action 24/7, joined them.
Online sports betting is available through desktop browser platforms, as well as mobile betting apps. These apps will work with both Android and iOS operating systems.
Signing up for an online sports betting account in Tennessee is a very straightforward process, and it can be done in a matter of minutes. As long as you are currently in the state of Tennessee, then you can access your account.
Here is a list of the online sportsbooks in Tennessee:
- Action 24/7
- Barstool Sportsbook
- BetMGM
- Caesars Sportsbook
- DraftKings
- FanDuel
- TwinSpires
- WynnBET
The one unique thing about Tennessee online sports betting has already been mentioned, but it bears repeating. Tennessee was the first-ever online-only sports betting industry, but other states will likely copy that model in the future.
Top Tennessee Online Sportsbooks
- No. 1 U.S. sportsbook
- Live Betting
- Top-Rated App
- Global Sports Selection
- 15+ States
- Top-Rated App
Retail Sportsbooks In Tennessee
Bettors in Tennessee that are looking to make a bet in person are completely out of luck. Tennessee has no retail sportsbooks available, and this will likely remain the case for the near future, at least.
Tennessee has no casinos in the state, and therefore there are no good options to offer retail betting. Some states allow professional sports teams or stadiums to offer retail betting, but that has not yet been the case in the Volunteer State.
Are Daily Fantasy Sports Sites Legal In Tennessee?
To the surprise of many, Tennessee became just the third state to legalize daily fantasy sports sites back in 2016. The Volunteer State has some very restrictive gambling laws in place. Still, lawmakers were able to get a bill through to legalize this industry.
July 1, 2016, the DFS bill officially went into law, and the two biggest operators were ready to launch almost immediately. This state has seen tremendous growth in the DFS space as there are now nine approved operators.
The legal gambling age to sign up for an account at a daily fantasy sports site is 18. Sites looking for a Tennessee license must pay a $50,000 licensing fee, but it hasn’t kept sites from looking to launch.
What was even more shocking about the decision from Tennessee to legalize daily fantasy sports sites was that many other states in the South were taking the complete opposite stance.
According to the Secretary of State’s office, here are the approved DFS sites that hold a license in Tennessee:
- DraftKings
- FanDuel
- Fantasy Sports Shark
- OwnersBox
- RealTime Fantasy Sports
- SportsHub Technologies
- Two Nine Sports
- Underdog Sports
- Yahoo!
Tennessee DFS Sites With Salary Cap Games
When it comes to DFS games, salary cap games will always be among the most popular.
DraftKings and FanDuel have completely dominated that space for almost ten years, and they remain the biggest options in Tennessee. Both of these companies offer a mobile betting app as well as an online site.
Signing up for a new account at DraftKings and FanDuel can be done in a matter of minutes, and from there, players will find a long list of available contests to enter. Customers can also link their DFS account to the sportsbook to flip back and forth much quicker and easier.
Fantasy Player Prop Games
Prop betting has become extremely popular in the sports betting space, which has now bled into daily fantasy sports. Player prop games are offered in Tennessee, but you won’t find those at DraftKings or FanDuel.
Most of the sites that offer player prop games don’t come with a mobile app, but some bigger companies do. Player prop games do not require entering a “lineup” at all, but players are making predictions based on questions posed by the site.
Yahoo is the top option for player prop games in Tennessee, and there is a mobile app associated with that option. Instead of betting on which side of the prop will hit, players can make guesses and enter contests.
DFS Sites With Best Ball
Best Ball is one of the newest types of DFS games offered in the industry, and it allows some of the smaller sites to be more competitive. DraftKings and FanDuel are also offering these games, but those two companies focus more on the salary cap games.
Underdog Sports is one of the sites that has started to offer daily, weekly, and season-long best ball games. Players are still putting together a roster with these games, but then the site takes things over from there.
The player pool at Underdog is also much smaller than some other sites, making games or contests easier to win. Once a roster is chosen at Underdog, the site will automatically select the most optimized lineup to earn the most points.
Is Online Poker Legal In Tennessee?
Only a handful of states in the US have legal online poker, and Tennessee is not one of them. Without anywhere to play legal poker in the state, the topic of online poker hasn’t been discussed in recent years.
Since there are no live poker rooms in Tennessee, it makes sense that online poker sites aren’t available either. While online sports betting and online casinos have seen growth throughout the US, that just hasn’t been the case when it comes to online poker.
Online poker is an industry that could be launched without casinos in the state, but this still doesn’t seem likely. Tennessee has made a clear stance against poker of any kind, and that ban extends to online as well.
Tennessee lawmakers and residents have made it clear that they favor expanding gaming options, but online poker is not going to be one of them.
Are Online Casinos Legal In Tennessee?
Not only is online casino gambling illegal in Tennessee, but this is also a state that doesn’t have any casino options available. Without any land-based casinos in the state, the chances of online casino gambling are very slim.
Some states in the U.S. have passed strict laws prohibiting online casino gambling, but Tennessee took that a step further. This state doesn’t have any casino options because all forms of casino gambling are illegal.
That is the number one law holding lawmakers back from improving this form of iGaming as well. This would require a change in the state’s constitution, and that is a process that could take years to complete.
The success of online sports betting might give lawmakers some talking points, but don’t expect this state to approve online casino gambling anytime soon.
Top Tennessee Online Sportsbooks
- No. 1 U.S. sportsbook
- Live Betting
- Top-Rated App
- Global Sports Selection
- 15+ States
- Top-Rated App
How Do I Know That Online Gambling Sites In Tennessee Are Fair?
Even though there have been some issues with Tennessee online sports betting, the fairness of these sites has never been in question. There is plenty of competition in the market, but all operators must operate fairly or risk losing their license.
Most of the betting odds and lines that you find in Tennessee will be highly similar, and those are standard throughout the US. This doesn’t mean that you will always agree with the odds, but the sportsbooks are not doing anything illegal or unjust.
Who Regulates Legal Online Sportsbooks In Tennessee?
Starting on January 1, 2022, the Sports Wagering Advisory Council took over control of the Tennessee sports betting industry. The Tennessee Education Lottery will still oversee the industry, but it will be the SWAC that receives applications and approves those licenses.
The hope is that this change in the governing body will improve the entire industry and cause fewer issues in the state.
Why Should I Trust Legal Online Sportsbooks?
There are several reasons to trust legal online sportsbooks, but the biggest reason is that each is licensed with the state. There is an extensive application just to be considered for a sports betting license.
These operators don’t want to run the risk of losing this license, which makes them trustworthy. Offshore betting sites can be untrustworthy at times, but these sites are much different from the state’s previous and illegal sports betting options.
How Do I Get Paid If I Win?
No “central bank” deals with payments in the Tennessee sports betting industry, and payouts come from the sportsbooks themselves. Each operator will have its list of banking options, including ways to request winnings.
Receiving a payment via PayPal or through an ACH is one of the most popular ways to get paid. Most sites will have a minimum amount required to receive a payment, and it can take 48-72 to process.
If there is an issue that cannot be solved by contacting the sports betting operator, the next step would be to contact either the Tennessee Education Lottery or the Sports Wagering Advisory Council.