Sports betting bill passes Tennessee Senate vote

After months of revisions and amendments, Tennessee is on the brink of legalising sports gambling.

6 years ago 0 4

Tennessee is one step closer to legalising sports betting.

The state’s House of Representatives voted 58-37 in favour of Bill H 1 last week after a lengthy process of revisions and amendments.

The Senate further altered the language before it was passed as Bill S 16 with a 19-12 vote on Tuesday.

The lower chamber has already agreed to the changes, so it is now up to Governor Bill Lee to either sign or veto the legislation.

If he opts to do neither, the bill will pass into law by default.

Of all the sports betting laws that have passed since the PASPA ruling last year, prospective licencees will be least pleased with the Tennessee model.

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Whereas most states have installed a tax rate of 10 per cent, Nashville lawmakers are planning to charge operators 20 per cent on total revenue from sports gambling.

They have also decided to raise the licence fee to $750,000 – again, much higher than the national standard.

It is understood these hikes are due to the lack of already-licensed casinos in Tennessee.

Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the bill is the provision that restricts betting operators to official statistics for the purpose of settling in-play wagers.

There is a major concern this will give sporting leagues such as the MLB, NBA and NFL the power to monetise their data and hold gambling companies to ransom.

None of the eight US states with legalised sports betting have any such restrictions in place.