Sports wagers in Tennessee will likely pass $5 billion in 2024 following a lucrative football season, according to data reported by the state. Tennesseans bet more in September, October and November than any other months in the four years since Tennessee legalized the industry. A reported $598.6 million wagered in November is the highest monthly stake in the four years that sportsbetting has been legal in Tennessee.

So far in 2024, Tennesseans have wagered $4.7 billion, with wagers made in December — typically commanding the year’s highest total, next to November — yet to be released. That action has generated more than $86.6 million in privilege taxes split between the state general fund (15 percent), gambling addiction programs (5 percent) and the Tennessee Lottery for Education (80 percent).  The Tennessee Sports Wagering Council, governed by a nine-member body appointed by state leaders, oversees sports betting in Tennessee.

Tennessee lawmakers legalized sports betting in 2019. Bettors wagered $131 million in November 2020, the first month of reported data, with the state taking an even 20 percent of sportsbooks’ profits. A new tweak effective in July 2023 reduced that privilege tax to 1.85 percent of total money changing hands between gamblers and licensed online sportsbooks.

That code rewrite also shields the public from the collective haul of approved sportsbooks operating in Tennessee, like DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM. The Sports Betting Alliance, an industry lobbying group, had six lobbyists from powerful Nashville firm McMahan Winstead & Richardson registered in the 2024 legislative session. Based on three years’ worth of data reported from 2020 to June 2023, books’ margin hovers around 10 percent, providing an estimated $470 million in revenue for operators in Tennessee before taxes and fees.