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Tennessee sports betting handle jumps to $180.9m in December

News

The Tennessee Education Lottery (TEL) has published sports betting figures for December, the second month of legalized wagering in the US state, during which revenue grew 5.3% month-on-month.

Players wagered a total of $180.9m on sports during December, up 37.7% from $131.4m in November, the first month of regulated betting, with the market having opened on November 1 last year.

Consumers in the state won $167.0m from sports betting, which suggested that Tennessee’s four licenced operators – DraftKings, BetMGM, FanDuel and local brand Action 247 – generated $13.9m in revenue, up from $13.2m in November.

After adjustments, the four operators paid a total of $3.1m in tax, based on the 20% gross revenue tax rate in place in the state.

Tax from sports betting is split between certain state bodies, including 80% for the Lottery for Education Account, and 15% the Tennessee General Fund.

The remaining 5% is allocated to the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to help tackle problem gambling in the state.

The TEL did not publish further details of the market’s performance.