Tennessee Still Not Ready For Sports Betting Launch

On Tuesday, the Tennessee Sports Wagering Advisory Council meeting didn’t move the needle in terms of excitement. The nine-person Council decided that another draft of the proposed sports betting guidelines needs to be rewritten with some alterations.
The biggest, of which, is the 85-percent limits on payouts (15 percent is required for a sportsbook hold) that will likely end up going to a 90-percent limit.
The Lottery Commission Board, which was selected back in November, was hoping to vote on the guidelines of online sports betting and have that done by Wednesday. What ended up happening was a number of public comments making them think twice about the current rules.
“I think 92 is a good place to start,” said Lottery Board Commission Chair Susan Lanigan. She had recommended these guidelines being changed to increase the payout limit and get somewhere in the area where other successful states are at.
Online sports betting in Tennessee became legalized all the way back in July of 2019. However, the green light to place wagers was never given. Now, it looks like this long wait could leak into the fall of 2020. Hopefully, The Volunteer State can figure it out before then and be ready in time for the start of NFL and college football seasons.
“I am encouraged we are making progress,” said Councilmember Tom Lee, who is an attorney based out of Nashville. “I wish we hadn’t been so delayed, but that is now past. What counts is what we do next, and I am convinced the time we take in the next 60 days to get this right will be worth it for players, licenses, and the state.”
Delay Hurts
Lee’s words may be falling on deaf ears with Tennessee’s residents during this whole delay. In fact, Wednesday’s decision to hold off again is the fourth time since July that the state needed more time to make a choice on a certain matter.
“We are the only state that has enacted a statute like this that is solely mobile sports betting,” said Lanigan. “So, no brick and mortar. We don’t have a gaming commission. We don’t have casinos; so, there’s not a model out there that we can easily follow. So, to a large degree, we’re having to figure this out from scratch. So, it does take time.”
All in all, Tennessee just needs to figure this out already once and for all. It’s understandable that certain guidelines and procedures need to be put in place. However, they’ve had plenty of time to figure this out by now.
The Volunteer State has some great renowned cities like Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Memphis that people love to travel to. Not to mention, one of the biggest tourist destinations is in Nashville, where numerous bachelor parties take place every year. Who knows?
Maybe if online sports betting finally gets underway, Nashville can start overtaking cities like Las Vegas and Atlantic City as the place to be.