TENNESSEE EXPANDS ITS LIST OF LEGAL IN-STATE SPORTSBOOK OPERATORS

Dave Schwab Sports Betting Expert

3 minute read

The new college football season is underway with Week 1 action over the Labor Day weekend. The NFL follows suit this week with the start of the 2021 regular season schedule.

This is big news for the legal US sportsbook industry after making its way through the slower summer months. More than half the states in the US now offer legal sports betting in some form.

States such as Washington, Connecticut and Arizona are looking to join that list in the coming days or weeks. This is an exciting time in the industry with legal operators all jockeying for position in a rapidly expanding marketplace.

Tennessee is approaching its one-year anniversary as a legal sports betting market. The Volunteer State went live with mobile sports betting on Nov. 1 of last year. This is one of the few states, along with Virginia, that only offer legal sports betting online.

The list of approved mobile sportsbook operators in Tennessee has been expanded just in time for football season. The Tennessee Education Lottery announced that Barstool Sportsbook is now licensed to offer mobile sports betting in the state.

The other approved operator is Wagr as a social gaming app. These two additions bring the total list of legal operators in Tennessee to nine. The big three of FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM headline that list.

Caesars, WynnBET, TwinSpires and in-state Action 24/7 round out the rest of the lineup.

The big news is the addition of Barstool Sportsbook. Penn National Gaming along with Barstool Sports first launched this popular mobile betting app in Pennsylvania. The addition of Tennessee brings the total number of Barstool markets to six.

Barstool Sportsbook is also available in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Virginia. The company’s aggressive expansion plans expects the Barstool app to be live in 10 states by the end of the year.

Through a recent partnership with Phoenix Raceway, Barstool Sportsbook will gain entry to the Arizona market. This state remains on track to go live in a matter of days.

Wagr is a new entry into the legal US market. The site refers to itself as “a social, simple and inclusive betting experience built for fans. Challenge your friends, not the house.”

Sports fans with the Wagr app have the chance to bet with family and friends. A special feature of the betting app will match bettors against one another within a set state.

Wagr falls more into the category of a sports betting exchange as opposed to a traditional sportsbook. However, it could be considered a hybrid. This site still sets the odds and books the actual bets.

Earlier this year, the Tennessee Education Lottery made note that it was looking for a sportsbook operator that offered peer-to-peer wagering.

Written by Dave Schwab, our US Sports Betting Industry Expert. Read more about our author's expertise.

Dave Schwab

Dave Schwab has been covering the sports betting industry for the past 12 years as the main focus of his specialty marketing company for online content. This endeavor followed a previous career in the field of sales and marketing in the wholesaling sector.Most of his weekly pieces focus on the rapidly expanding legal US sports betting industry. However, he still does extensive work covering betting angles that can provide a competitive edge to avid players. Dave believes that it is always a challenge to take past results and current form to try and correctly determine a future result. Sports brings out the unpredictability in what should be a fairly predictable outcome based on the stats, facts and recent trends in a particular matchup. More from Dave Schwab