Online sports betting is now officially live in Tennessee
Tennessee online sports betting is finally here. Bettors in the state can now place legal wagers on professional and college sporting events.
The Tennessee Education Lottery approved four sportsbook operators for launch, including DraftKings Sportsbook and FanDuel Sportsbook, which are taking action on Day 1.
Tennessee’s online betting launch comes at a time when SEC football and the NFL regular season are in full-swing. Both pro and college football is expected to draw significant betting interest in the early days and weeks following the launch.
Bets on teams like the Tennessee Volunteers and Tennessee Titans figure to be especially popular. Of note, Tennessee sports bettors will be able to place pregame and live in-game bets, as well as futures wagers on, say, the 5-1 Titans to win the Super Bowl.
Sportsbooks Available at Launch
There are three prominent sportsbook options available as Tennessee online sports betting goes live. Those three sportsbooks are:
Fortunately for Tennessee bettors, these three apps represent some of the best options on the U.S. legal sports betting market.
In particular, FanDuel and DraftKings have enjoyed tremendous success in every market where each has launched. Given that the competition for registrations and betting dollars is expected to be fierce in Tennessee, bettors should expect to take advantage of aggressive free bets, deposit matches, and odds boost specials from all three sportsbooks.
The only downside for the Tennessee market is that the required 10% sportsbook hold means that bettors may be required to pay heavier prices on their wagers.
Essentially, a standard point spread bet at sportsbooks with a 5-7% hold might carry a -110 price (bet $110 to win $100). However, TN bettors may see prices in the -115 to -120 range to account for the added cost of the increased hold.
As Tennessee goes live, DraftKings Sportsbook offers new players $1,000 in free bets through a deposit match, where 20% of an initial deposit is matched. FanDuel Sportsbook offers a $1,000 risk-free first bet. BetMGM offers a $500 risk-free first bet.
Big Expectations For Tennessee Sports Betting Market
Sports betting received strong support from Tennessee’s House and Senate. It actually became legal in July, 2019 without Governor Bill Lee’s signature. The following month, the Tennessee Education Lottery and other lawmakers took a methodical approach to developing the state’s betting rules.
Unlike other states where sports betting is legal, Tennessee has taken a hard stance against brick-and-mortar retail sportsbook and casino locations. Essentially, if you want to bet on sports in Tennessee, the only way to do it is online.
Without casino gaming and physical walk-in locations, Tennessee’s online sports betting operation is expected to be extremely successful. Ultimately, it is also widely expected that many other prominent online sportsbook operators, along with some upstarts, are likely to join the market in the coming weeks and months.
However, for now, it’s a mainly three-horse race. Active online sportsbooks are expected to come out of the gates quickly in a newly-minted Tennessee sports betting market that arrives with great expectations.
