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Sports Betting Activity in Tennessee Slips to Lowest Level Since August

Dave Bonderoff

Last Updated: June 16, 2023 1:24 PM EDT • 1 min 50 sec read.

Santiago Vescovi #25 of the Tennessee Volunteers features in our March Madness prop bets.
Santiago Vescovi #25 of the Tennessee Volunteers handles the ball against Jalen Dalcourt #5 of the Louisiana Lafayette Ragin Cajuns in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament on March 16. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images/AFP

The spring-summer legal sports betting slowdown is in full swing for Tennessee’s best sports betting apps. The state's sports wagering earnings report for May reveal a healthy dropoff from not only last month, but also from the winter and early spring months when the NFL and NCAA basketball dominated the state's sports betting handles and revenues.

Month-over-month, sports betting in Tennessee has dropped. But a closer look at May's numbers reveal an unexpected year-over-year growth in the Tennessee legal sports betting sector. The Volunteer State is one of just a handful of states that has seen their year-over-year wagering activity increase.

May 2023 also marked an end to the way that Tennessee will tax its legal sports betting platform. SB475 took affect this month, meaning that instead of a 20% tax rate on gross gaming revenues, the best betting sites in Tennessee will be expected to pay 2% on the total monthly handle.

Other news out of Tennessee surrounds the launch of a new sportsbook in the Volunteer State market. Zensports, which applied for a Tennessee license in February, became the 13th operator in the Volunteer State market and will contribute to June's sports betting figures. However, it still has some work to do in order for ZenSports users to gain full access of what the provider has to offer.

Tennessee's May sports betting numbers

The Tennessee Sports Wagering Advisory Council reported on Thursday that the states best betting sites took in $279.8 million in May, the lowest total since August.

May's sports betting total is about 12% less than the $318.4 million reported in April. The $279.8 million is, however a 6.9% improvement from of $261.5 million in bets from May 2022's total.

Adjusted gross revenues from the legal sports betting scene in May came in at $35.7 million, thanks to an impressive 13.9% hold rate. It is an improvement from the $32.1 million in revenues off of an 10.4% hold reported from Tennessee's April sports betting haul. Year-over-year adjusted gross revenue rose an eye-opening 50% from May 2022, when $27 million was reported.

Taxes paid by Tennessee sports betting sites were $7.1 million, a nearly $700,000 improvement from April and a $2.4 million increase from the $4.8 million from May 2022.

Changes in the Tennessee market

In addition to a new sports betting provider coming to the Tennessee legal sports betting scene in June, a new tax structure, wherein 2% of the total handle for the state's best betting sites will be charged rather than the customary 20% on operators' gross gaming revenues.

Interestingly, if the 2% handle tax was implemented in May, tax contributions would have amounted to $5.6 million in taxes paid, which is 21% lower than generated with the 20% tax on GGR that was charged in May.

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Written By:
Dave Bonderoff
Dave Bonderoff and betting go hand-in-hand. Both are characterized by "odds". Dave fancies himself as one of the most dedicated sports and pop-culture junkies around, to the chagrin of his family and friends. Following sports for 50 years and writing about it for 20, Dave hasn't found a sport yet that can't contribute to 2-3 straight hours of couch time. That search remains ongoing. As a good old Canadian boy, hockey is in Dave’s heart, as is curling sadly. But evolution is a real thing and that’s why football, baseball, and just about every sport on the planet has become a passion. Dave isn’t afraid to kill some time obsessing over politics or the far-too-frequent awards shows the consume the airwaves.