by Jon Styf
Tennessee collected nearly $7 million in taxes on more than $380 million worth of sports wagers placed in the state in February.
That compares to nearly $6.4 million in taxes on $327 million in wagers in February 2023, which included one less day than February 2024, and $3 million in February 2022.
Tennessee stopped reporting the adjusted gross income of the state’s collective sportsbooks midway through 2023 and does not report data from individual sportsbooks.
Tennessee is the only state with legalized sports wagering that does not report how much the sportsbooks make on bets monthly.
Sports Wagering Council Executive Director Mary Beth Thomas recently estimated in a budget hearing that 1.5 to 2.0 million individuals placed legal sports wagers in the state over the past year.
Tennessee levies a 1.85 percent tax on gross handle, which replaced a 20 percent tax on adjusted gross income that was in place until July.
Tennessee sends 80 percent of its sports wagering taxes to the Lottery for Education Fund to pay for things such as the Hope Scholarship while 15 percent goes to the general fund of local governments and 5 percent goes to the state’s Department of Mental Health.
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Jon Styf is a contributor to The Center Square.
Photo “Tennessee Capitol” by Adam Jones CC2.0
