by Jon Styf
Tennessee collected $8.7 million in taxes on $336.9 million in sports wagers in September, according to new numbers from the state’s Sports Wagering Advisory Council.
The taxes are more than the state has collected in a month since wagering opened in November 2020. The previous high was $5.9 million collected in November 2021.
The $336.9 million in wagering was the sixth largest month since wagering began, with the previous high being $386 million wagered in January 2022.
Tennessee collects 20% of the industry’s net operator revenue in taxes. Of the sports gambling taxes, 80% of the taxes collected from sports gambling goes to education, 15% goes to the state for distribution to local governments and 5% goes toward mental health programs.
The council expected the tax numbers to rise after the committee issued a memo to sportsbooks this summer stating that, starting July 1, it would be creating new standards for how earnings are reported and how the taxes are calculated.
The June 15 memo defined how sportsbooks need to calculate profit numbers, including how it pertains to promotional bets given to gamblers as deposit bonuses, odds boosts, free bets and more.
The committee is scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. on Oct. 24, when it is expected to review the license renewals for the state’s first four sportsbook operators in Action 24/7, BetMGM, FanDuel and DraftKings. The state currently has 11 active sportsbook operators with BallyBet and Fubo Sportsbook approved but not yet operational.
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Jon Styf is an award-winning editor and reporter who has worked in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan in local newsrooms over the past 20 years, working for Shaw Media, Hearst and several other companies. Styf is a reporter for The Center Square.Â
Photo “Mobile Sports” by dawnfu.
