As the date for sports betting launch draws near, Tennessee seems to be giving out more licenses to several betting operators and suppliers. It is confirmed that some sports betting vendors have received their license, which allows them to provide bettors with physical sportsbooks. The launch of sports betting in Tennessee would kick off on the 1st of November, 2020, several months after the legislature has passed the sports betting bill.
Sports Betting in Tennessee
The sports industry is yet to legalize sports betting in some locations around the world, and Tennessee was among such places. However, sports betting became legal on the 30th of April, 2019, in Tennessee. This approval was from the Tennessee legislature after looking into the sports betting bill and found it worthy for approval, making Tennessee the eighteenth state in the U.S to have regulated sports industry for sports betting.
Also, Tennessee has not yet made an official launch of sports betting, even though it is nearly a year after the sports betting bill has been passed. For now, there is no sportsbook made available for bettors, as they can only bet online or utilize mobile betting.
Although the mobile sports betting license provided in Tennessee do not have any restrictions in place, vendors are required to pay a licensing fee. Also, online and mobile sports betting is only available to bettors from the age of 21 and above. The Tennessee Education Lottery Corp ensures that betting providers keep to the rules as provided in the Tennessee Sports Gaming Act.
Tennessee Sports Betting Launch and License Details
The Tennessee Education Lottery Board had stated earlier that the Tennessee sports betting would be launched on the 1st of November, 2020, or sooner. This launch would provide sports betting operators the license to operate with physical sportsbooks and not just operating with the mobile and online betting platforms.
However, it seems like the Tennessee Education Lottery Board has approved some operators conditionally while we await the launch that would kick off next Sunday. The first three recorded online betting operators in the state have revealed that they have gotten theirs.
Similarly, some other companies were provided with these licenses during the last held Sports Wagering Committee meeting of the Tennessee Education Lottery Board. These betting vendors would also be present at the betting launch. These licenses are likely the last to be offered before the set day of the launch.
This conclusion has been made from the statement of Rebecca Hargrave, the CEO of the Tennessee Education Lottery. She had said that the last held meeting on Thursday is likely to be the last they would hold before the 1st of November. She has also commented that the first three licensed betting operators should face no issues going live on the launch date, as they have completed all processes needed for them to do so.
In fact, they can start accepting a bet on the set date, and hopefully, they shouldn’t encounter any issues in doing so. This speculation is because there are so many bettors eagerly awaiting the sports bet launch. It would interest you to know that there are about three unspecified sports vendors who have also applied for this license; however, theirs are not yet available.
In conclusion, bettors can now experience a new era in the Tennessee betting industry, as they can now use the physical sportsbooks from licensed betting operators after the launch. This added means of betting would complement the online and mobile betting platforms that have been made available after the sports betting bill was passed some time ago.
