December gross wagers beat the $495.1 million spent in the same month in 2023 by 15.8%. However, the total fell 4.3% short of the Tennessee record of $598.6 million set in November 2024.
The Tennessee Sports Wagering Council (SWC) also said after $2.9 million worth of adjustments, gross sports betting handle was $569.8 million. This beats December 2023 by 16.1% but is 4.1% behind November last year. Detail of these adjustments were not disclosed.
In terms of tax, the state generated $10.5 million from sports betting during December. The SWC does not indicate on the report what the adjustments are for, nor does it break down bets by operator or sport. The SWC also does not report operator revenue.
Some of the performance might be attributable to the University of Tennessee football team. The Volunteers finished as the ninth seed in the first-ever 12-team college football playoff. Their season finished with a 42-17 loss at Ohio State on 21 December.
Twelve platforms currently live; Bovada exits
Tennessee currently hosts 12 approved mobile sports betting platforms. At present, only online wagering is permitted, with retail betting not legally available to consumers.
Caesars, Bally Bet, FanDuel, DraftKings, Fanatics, ESPN Bet, BetMGM and Hard Rock Bet are among the leading licensed brands. Betly, ZenSports, Superbook and Tennesee Action 24/7 also operate in the state.
The uptick in numbers to close out the year came alongside the exit of leading offshore bookmaker Bovada on 7 November. The SWC sent Bovada a cease-and-desist letter earlier this year and fined the company $50,000. Tennessee became the 16th US market that Bovada has exited.
“Our licensed sportsbook operators provide important consumer protections not found in the illegal market and the closure of Bovada’s virtual doors in Tennessee is an important step toward the eradication of unlicensed, illegal sportsbooks in Tennessee,” SWC chairman Billy Orgel said in a press release.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/sports-betting/tennessee-sports-betting-handle-december/
