Tennessee’s Sportsbooks Closing In On $2 Billion Total Handle

  • Tennessee’s bettors wagered $257 million in total handle during September.
  • This is Tennessee’s highest monthly total since regulation in November 2020.
  • Tennessee will likely go over $2 billion in total handle in their first year of regulation.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee’s sports betting revenue has hit record highs in the month of September. $257 million in total wagers was staked at Tennessee’s online sportsbooks in September, the highest total in the state’s 11 months of activity.

Before September, the previous best month in terms of sports betting handle was January 2021, in which $211 million was wagered.

September’s handle was a huge jump from August’s, which was $144 million, and was only the third month since Tennessee’s launch that saw a handle north of $200 million.

That $257 million in handle generated $3.3 million in revenue for the government, well over 10% of the total revenue generated by sports betting in TN.

The state collected $32.5 million in the first 11 months of sports betting in the state, after going live in November 2020.

TN Will Hit $2 Billion By October

Tennessee was the first state in the United States to hit over $1 billion in total handle within six months of launch. Once the revenue numbers for October are available, it is widely expected that they will exceed $2 billion handled in a 12-month span.

As of September, they sitting around $1.96 billion in total handle, and no month has been under $140 million.

That means even the most conservative estimates would put Tennessee’s 12-month revenue north of $2 billion. However, estimates are not conservative for October, which contained the MLB playoffs, the NBA regular season, and, of course, the NFL and college football seasons, which are major drivers of sports betting.

Tennessee’s wild success could set the market for what other online gambling regulations will look like in the future.

They’re one of only a few states to only regulate online sports betting instead of both brick-and-mortar and online sports betting, or only brick-and-mortar sports betting.

The Tennessee model’s success could influence other states going forward, and it seems that success has shown no signs of slowing down.