Tennessee continued its history-making sports betting start in December as the Volunteer State closed out 2020 with the best two-month debut.
December saw bettors placed $180.9m in wagers, according to official data released by The Tennessee Education Lottery, which surpassed November’s $131.4m handle by 37.6 per cent. The month’s activity also produced a win of $13.9m for the operators, up from $13.2m in November, and injected $3.1m into state coffers.
“Tennessee launched with what many thought were a lot of question marks, but it is proving to be the little engine that could,” said Jessica Welman, analyst for PlayTenn.com.
“It seemed operators were slow to get to the state, many were concerned the 10 per cent hold mandate would tamp down demand, and there were questions on whether or not the Tennessee Education Lottery was up to the task of regulating the industry.
“Those concerns seem like a distant memory now as Tennessee has catapulted itself into becoming a major player in the US industry in just two months.”
Analysts stipulate a number of factors in playing a key role in the bumper performance, those being launching with digital wagering; no retail component meaning a lack on in-person registration requirements, none of the region’s seven neighbouring states offered online sports betting during the timeframe; and only two, Arkansas and Mississippi, are home to any retail betting.
“Tennessee launched under near-perfect conditions and that can be seen in the early results,” said Dustin Gouker, analyst for PlayTenn.com. “Even with added competition from Virginia now going live, Tennessee’s start has established the state as a significant player in the US And I don’t see anything that will stop the market’s momentum in the short-term.”
Through the market’s first two months, Tennessee has generated $312.3m in bets, the most of any legal sports betting jurisdiction; shattered the records for the best first month and the best second month; and set a new standard for operator revenue with $27.1m.
