Tennessee’s Sports Wagering Advisory Council reported sports wagering handle of just over $370 million in March on Tuesday, a sharp uptick that was likely aided by both the Memphis Grizzlies and the NCAA Tournament.
The SWAC does not disclose handle and revenue by either sport or operator, but it is likely basketball was a primary driver of handle in the Volunteer State. The Grizzlies, led by star guard Ja Morant, have become one of the NBA’s most talked-about teams, and top college hoops schools Tennessee and Memphis both reached the second round of March Madness, .
The $370 million handle ranks third out of 17 months of all-time wagering and was an 18.2% increase from February’s total of $313.3 million. It was the sixth consecutive month handle surpassed $300 million. Tennessee also became the ninth state to clear $1 billion in handle for 2022 and the 10th to reach $4 billion in the post-PASPA era for overall handle.
Top 10 Running #SportsBetting handle 2022 YTD by state (March in CAPS)
1 NEW YORK $4.87B
2 NEW JERSEY $3.46B
3 PENNSYLVANIA: $2.11B
4 Nevada $1.88B
5 Illinois $1.55B
6 MICHIGAN $1.43B
7 INDIANA $1.39B
8 TENNESSEE $1.07B
9 Colorado $1.01B10 Virginia $887.4M
— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) April 19, 2022
Though state rules require operators to reach a win rate of 10% for gross revenue against the public, bettors have been more than holding their own against Tennessee’s nine digital sportsbooks. The March hold was 7.2%, roughly one-half point higher than February, but also the third-lowest since launch. In fact, the four lowest monthly win rates have come over the last six months, which have accounted for 52% of the $4.1 billion wagered since launch.
State operators claimed $26.5 million in revenue, a month-over-month improvement of 26.6%, and 47.5% higher compared to March 2021. The state was able to tax a significant portion of that total, with the adjusted revenue totaling close to $22.8 million after promotional credits were included.
Tennessee’s 20% tax rate on adjusted revenue gave the state more than $4.5 million for March, and the $13.4 million in receipts for the first quarter of 2022 is nearly $3.3 million ahead of last year’s pace.
