The Tennessee Education Lottery‘s sports wagering committee recently notified two operators that their sports betting license application reviews were complete. Now it’s known that one of the operators is VegasWINNERS, a subsidiary of Winners Inc., providers of sports betting content, analysis, research and data. VegasWINNERS now can refer Tennessee customers to licensed sportsbooks in return for commission payments.
Observers said the second operator is expected to be Penn National’s Barstool Sportsbook, although the TEL has not made it official.
VegasWINNERS currently is registered in several states and has applied for sports betting licenses in additional states. VegasWINNERS Chief Executive Officer Wayne Allyn Root said, “This is positive news for our company. It’s even more affirmation for our vision as sports gambling explodes in popularity. We hope to have affiliate licenses in every state with legal sports gambling. From my 36 years in this industry, I can tell you Tennessee is a state filled with enthusiastic sports bettors and we are honored and excited to be part of sports betting in the great state of Tennessee.”
Penn National’s Barstool Sportsbook, a major name in the wagering world, awaits the final word from Tennessee, one of five states where Barstool is set to go live in time for the 2021 National Football League season. Industry officials anticipate the Tennessee Titans, a team that could make the playoffs, will be a big draw at local sportsbooks.
Barstool currently operates in Arizona, Colorado, New Jersey and Virginia.
Recently, Penn National purchased Score Media to use its proprietary sportsbook and media outlet to expand on Barstool. Penn National President and Chief Executive Officer Jay Snowden said, “We are thrilled to be acquiring theScore, which is the number one sports app in Canada and the third most popular sports app in all of North America. TheScore’s unique media platform and modern, state-of-the art technology is a powerful complement to the reach of Barstool Sports and its popular personalities and content.”
Sports betting launched in Tennessee, a mobile-only market, in November 2020. With seven online sportsbooks, in January 2021 gross sports betting revenue was $49 million with wagers of $523 million. So far in 2021, Tennessee has taken in more than $1.1 billion in sports wagers.
