The Tennessee Sports Wagering Advisory Council (SWAC) approved three additional online mobile sportsbook operators Thursday morning. Tennessee launched legal mobile sports betting on Nov. 1, 2020, and major operators such as Barstool Sportsbook, BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel are all currently available.
Bally Bet will become available to Tennesseeans after being approved by the SWAC on Thursday. The company, which has a business relationship with the Nashville Predators, expects to launch its mobile sportsbook in Tennessee toward the end of 2022 or in early 2023, according to a company representative who spoke at the SWAC meeting. Currently, Bally Bet is available in Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Illinois, and Virginia.
Predators, Bally's Corporation Announce Sports Betting Partnershiphttps://t.co/0lgxwrhmwb
— Alfonso Straffon 🇨🇷🇺🇸🇲🇽 (@astraffon) October 22, 2021
The SWAC also approved SuperBook sportsbook and Gamewise, which is expected to launch a Betly sportsbook in the state. Betly recently became the first mobile sportsbook to launch in Arkansas. SuperBook hopes to launch its mobile sports betting platform at some point in April, while Betly’s planned launch timeline wasn’t immediately clear.
Permanent rules adopted
In addition to approving three new operators, the SWAC implemented its permanent rules. Since taking over as the state’s sports betting regulator on Jan. 1 — the lottery previously held those responsibilities — the SWAC has operated using temporary emergency rules.
The SWAC’s permanent rules include the state’s 10% hold rule, which stirred up controversy during the rulemaking process. First implemented when the lottery was the state’s sports betting regulator, the 10% hold requires operators in the state to win at least 10% from bettors as their gross revenue “hold.” The national average for hold is closer to 7%, as operators keep an average of $7 per $100 wager after the bettor is paid.
Other aspects of the permanent rules are less controversial, although the SWAC did discuss the state’s varying levels of allowed prop bets and whether changes should be made there. The SWAC mentioned not allowing betting on the NFL combine because the council believed it too closely resembled college prop betting. As for what is and isn’t allowed in the future, the SWAC expects to keep a list on its website of the events — both approved and denied — that operators request to offer.
