Tennessee Sets Nov. 1st as Their Sports Betting Launch Date

The Tennessee Education Lottery (TEL) made an announcement this week that its mobile and online sports betting market will go live no later than November 1^st, 2020.

The initial launch date was supposed to be September 1^st, but it soon became evident that the market would not be ready by then. Although the process has taken longer than expected, it’s only two months away and sports betting operators are lining up to take legal wagers in Tennessee.

Announcement Given to Advisory Council

The date of November 1^st, was provided to the Sports Wagering Advisory Council by Rebecca Hargrove, TEL CEO. Originally, it had been anticipated that September would be the month that regulators could go live with sports wagering, but that has since been pushed back thanks to delays.

As for where things stand with the gaming operator licenses in the state, there are four firms that have submitted their applications. Each of these entities are vying to be a sports gaming operator in Tennessee.

While it hasn’t been made public who these four firms are, the cost of the license has been released. The operators will need to pay $750,000 per year in order to operate in Tennessee.

Initially, sports betting licenses were believed to take 90 days for approval. However, the Tennessee Education Lottery has said that they plan on speeding up the process so that it can meet that November 1^st deadline.

Looking to Go Operational During NFL Season

There was a serious push to get the sports wagering system up and running in time for the NFL season to begin in mid-September since professional football is the most popular sport to wager on.

Unfortunately, delays have made it impossible for Tennessee sports betting to begin by then. Yet, this is not an uncommon occurrence with the state. For those who have been following sports betting in TN, the legislation saga has been a very long and hotly debated road to get to this point.

It was back in the fall of 2018 when the state first started talking about sports betting legislation and here it is two years later almost at the point of finally going live.

Even with the Tennessee Education Lottery pushing the launch date back to November 1^st, the belief is that the state will still be able to capitalize on the NFL season especially with the Tennessee Titans who many analysts predict will be a huge factor in Tennessee’s sports betting industry.

Another piece of information that the TEL has released to the public is that it’s not just operator licenses that are being reviewed and approved. There are over 20 applications for vendors and suppliers that are also being properly vetted by the state lottery.

One thing is for certain, despite the long road to get to this point, Tennessee is shaping up to be quite the robust industry once it can final go live.