Bettors in Tennessee opened the third year of legal sports wagering in the state the same way they ended the second: by setting an all-time record for handle.
The Sports Wagering Advisory Council reported $439.5 million in mobile-only accepted bets for November, blowing past October’s short-lived high of $405.3 million while marking the first back-to-back months of $400 million-plus handle in 25 months of wagering.
The records didn’t stop there, as the Volunteer State also set new all-time state highs for gross revenue at $47.2 million and adjusted revenue at $45.2 million. It was the second time in three months gross operator revenue topped $45 million, with November’s figure edging out the $46.3 million from September. The adjusted revenue also toppled a record set in September.
Although the Sports Wagering Advisory Council does not publicly disclose handle and revenue figures by sport (or by operator), NFL and college football surely accounted for the bulk of the betting action and these fall months have been record-setting in numerous states thanks to the popularity of football wagering.
Operators posted a combined 10.8% hold for November, the third-highest all-time. All three of Tennessee’s top holds have come in the last four months, with November’s the sixth overall in double figures. The 10.3% adjusted win rate also ranks third in state annals, and the four times the AGR hold has cracked 10% have all come in the last five months.
State taxes surpassed $9 million for November, the highest total of any state outside of New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey this year. It also lifted Tennessee’s overall taxes raised to $106.3 million, making the Volunteer State the sixth to reach the $100 million milestone. In addition to the aforementioned quartet, Nevada has also reached nine figures in tax receipts.
Year 3 off to a fast start
All-time Top 10 #SportsBetting handles post-PASPA (Nov in CAPS)
1 New Jersey $31.57B
2 Nevada $27.66B
3 Pennsylvania $17.35B
4 Illinois ~$16.6B
5 New York $13.45B
6 INDIANA $10.07B
7 Colorado $9.14B
8 Michigan $7.92B
9 Virginia $7.11B
10 TENNESSEE $6.45B <-NEW#GamblingTwitter— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) December 16, 2022
Handle was up 8.4% compared to October and up 20.2% compared to November 2021. With the November hold up more than 1.5 percentage points versus October, it was easy to see why gross revenue increased 26.7%. Tennessee’s record month also sent the national gross revenue for the 2022 calendar year over $6 billion, with that figure accounting for nearly 46% of the nearly $13.2 billion generated in the post-PASPA era.
Tennessee operators’ month-over-month AGR spread was nearly 1.7 points higher, contributing to an increase of 29.7%. The year-over-year adjusted revenue had the biggest upward spike at 52.5%, with the November 2021 hold more than two full percentage points lower.
In terms of year-over-year comparisons, all four key metrics are substantially higher this year versus 2021. Handle is up 45.8%; gross revenue 53.8%; and adjusted revenue 61.9%. The $58.7 million in state tax generated from the 20% levy on adjusted revenue is running $22.4 million ahead of the first 11 months of 2021.
