The Tennessee Sports Gaming Act (House Bill 1) has passed a vote that’ll push it up to the Operations Committee of the Government. If it is approved there, it’ll be finally passed up to the House for a decision.
Representatives have been trying for weeks now to get a sports bill passed by the Tennessee House State Committee. The process was arduous and slow, but it’s finally over with a positive outcome for those in favor of sports betting! House Bill 1, also known as the Tennessee Sports Gaming Act, was finally approved by a vote of 12-5 to advance this Tuesday.
House Bill 1 will make sports betting legal within the state of Tennessee. Bets would be placed entirely online and through mobile app, considering the state doesn’t currently have casinos, although does have a lottery. The state’s lottery would be responsible for oversight of any sports betting that is conducted.
Throughout the weeks-long discussion about the bill, several different amendments were considered to make the language more agreeable to legislators. One of the main amendments to be included was one that banned proposition betting on collegiate level games.
This change is only minor if you consider that proposition bets are fairly uncommon in college games as it is. Both Vanderbilt and University of Tennessee supported this amendment, quite interesting when you consider that the Tennessee Volunteers lost in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last month.
Another unique change to the bill’s language include a 5% cut of revenue from taxes be used to help gamblers in recovery. While the state does wish to increase the presence of gambling, they don’t want to influence those that struggle with gambling into dangerous behaviors.
On top of this interesting amendment, the bill also now asks that there not be a limit to the number of gambling licenses available within the state. This would allow more companies to operate as a sportsbook and accept bets.
It’s certainly hard to say whether or not this bill make it to the House, but it looks promising that it’s been thoroughly-discusses and has made it this far. The Governor, Bill Lee, having previously opposed any attempts to bring gambling or casinos to the state. Sports betting is different because it wouldn’t require use of a casino or location.
There are also some rumors that the governor has been assisting with the draft of the bill, which would lead to a higher possibility of the bill fully being passed. Things are still unclear for now, but there’s certainly good news on Tennessee’s sports betting front.
