In Tennessee, several amendments were proposed for the sports betting measure, House Bill 1, introduced on February 27 in the House State Committee. Supporters said the state’s sports betting market could generate $150 million in annual taxable revenues based on about $3 billion in handle.
Since the state has no casinos or racinos, the measure was designed to offer mobile sports betting, regulated by a new state gaming commission. Then, that was changed to authorize the Tennessee Lottery to regulate sports betting. Now brick-and-mortar sports books are being considered, as well as a new regulatory body, again.
The measure’s sponsor, state Rep. Rick Staples, said given the state’s lack of commercial casino gambling, retail sports books are not the most effective way to offer sports betting. And with a proposed license fee of $750,000, state Rep. Jason Powell, speaking for small businesses in the state, argued the license fee should be lowered to $75k; that proposal was rejected by the 19 members of the House State Committee present during debate. A proposal to remove the 10-license cap also was rejected, as well as mandating the use of official league sports betting data for live betting.
And in a too-close-for-comfort 10-9 vote, lawmakers rejected a proposal to ban sports betting on Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving plus 3-10 p.m. Sundays. That would effectively prohibit most wagering gambling on National Football League games.
The measure remains in the House State Committee. Discussion has been tabled numerous times. A vote was delayed again after the latest hearing. The session will end in mid-May.
