KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Last year marked the second full year of legalized sports betting in Tennessee. According to an analysis by Sportsbook Review, the amount of money wagered in the state increased by nearly 50% from 2021.
According to Sportsbook Review, Tennesseans have wagered over six billion dollars since mobile sports betting went live in 2020. Wagers placed in 2022 totaled $2,970,645,584.
The total amount wagered in 2021 was $2,022,900,000, marking a percent increase of nearly 47% in 2022.
In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a 1992 federal law that largely prohibited most states from authorizing sports betting.
The Tennessee General Assembly approved mobile-only sports wagers in 2019. Then-Knoxville representative Rick Staples filed the bill in late 2018 to legalize sports betting.
The state collects 20% of the industry’s net operator revenues in taxes, 80% of which goes to support education. Of the remaining funds, 15% is distributed to local governments and the remaining 5% goes to mental health programs.
“Sports betting has seen a huge increase since some states have legalized it within the last four years, with wagers increasing by 70% from 2021 to 2022,” a Sportsbook Review spokesperson said. “In the first year after the Supreme Court ruling, legal US sportsbooks took in $9 billion, in 2022 so far over $74 billion has been wagered, that’s a 744% increase in four years.
