College sports are wrapping up and states like Tennessee are running out of local teams to cheer for (or bet on). Tons of legal betting states are seeing a contraction in wagering, and the Volunteer State is no different.
Tennessee’s Sports Wagering Advisory Council (SWAC) announced that the Volunteer State took in $384.2 million in wagers last month. A nearly $90 million drop from March’s $473.5 million. At least April was above February’s $380 million, but as summer approaches, the handle is expected to dip below that number.
Sportsbooks increased their deductions from $2.1 million to $3.3 million. While, taxwise, the state charged operators $7 million, a 19.5% monthly decline.
Compared to this time last year, April 2024 shows that the Tennessee sports betting market is growing. Handle has increased more than 20% and the tax haul is 9.3% higher.
How Tennessee compares
With Kentucky’s entrance in the sports betting arena, Tennessee has another neighbor taking wagers. But the Volunteer State is still the only place where sportsbooks are taxed on their handle, instead of the revenue that comes from the action.
How does that look versus the other two nearby states (Kentucky and Virginia)? Right now, it is looking pretty savvy.
In February, Virginia reported $545 million in handle and a 9% hold, meaning the state's 15% tax bill off the adjusted revenue came to $6.3 million.
In that same month, Kentucky came away with roughly $208 million in bets, and a 10.7% hold, bringing in $3 million (9.75% tax rate).
Tennessee ended the month in between with $380.3 million in wagers. Yet its 2% tax rate on this handle netted the state $6.9 million.
