Legislation
US – Tennessee changes sports betting stance to online only
By Phil - 21 March 2019
An amendment to proposed sports betting legislation in Tennessee by Representative Rick Staples has stripped away any mention of sportsbook shops and kiosks in favour of an online only approach.
The original bill put forward in January allowed for the creation of sports betting shops similar to sportsbooks. Tennessee has previously had a very conservative approach to gambling and as such has no casinos in operation.
The state’s online betting sector would be managed by the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation who would give licences to ten sports betting companies.
Republican Staples believes this would raise $21.6m in tax in the first year of operation, doubling in the second year. Local government would get 15 per cent of the taxable income while the Lottery for education would receive 85 per cent.
He said: “Billions of dollars leave the state of Tennessee to our neighboring states with casino and table gambling. So this is a new stream of revenue that the federal government is allowing the states to take advantage of.”
