Six More Sportsbooks Want to Launch, Says Tennessee’s New Regulator

Bally Bet, Fubo Sportsbook, Gamewise, SuperBook, and ZenSports have all applied for TN sports betting licenses with predecessor and a sixth unnamed application is en route.
Six More Sportsbooks Want to Launch, Says Tennessee's New Regulator
By
January 11, 2022

Tennessee’s new regulatory agency for sports betting said it will consider applications from six sportsbooks in the coming months, but also said it was likely that some or all of the newcomers would not be ready to accept wagers in time for the Super Bowl in February.

During a meeting of the state’s Sports Wagering Advisory Council (SWAC) last week, executive director Mary Beth Thomas said its predecessor, the Tennessee Education Lottery (TEL) Corporation, had accepted applications for five sportsbooks last year when TEL was still the lead agency. The sportsbooks are:

  • Bally Bet
  • Fubo
  • Gamewise
  • SuperBook
  • ZenSports

Thomas added that an application from a sixth sportsbook had been submitted, and that paperwork with the application was en route via courier but did not give the sportsbook’s name. She said TEL had received applications from Bally Bet and Fubo last May, and that SWAC “will prioritize them first,” after which the agency would focus on Gamewise and SuperBook, who submitted applications back in November. It was unclear when ZenSports had submitted their application.

Gamewise is a joint venture formed in July 2021 between Delaware North — a global hospitality company — and GAMING1 — a Belgium-based online casino and sports betting operator. Meanwhile, ZenSports is a San Francisco-based sportsbook that allows users to make wagers using USD or cryptocurrencies. ZenSports also has a focus on esports wagering, which is legal in Tennessee and three other states — Nevada, New Jersey, and West Virginia.

SWAC assumed regulatory authority for the state’s sports betting enterprise from TEL on January 1. Tennessee currently has eight active sportsbooks. A ninth — Wagr — was given regulatory approval by TEL but has not launched.

Thomas said four operators — Action 24/7, BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuelhad submitted renewal applications to TEL before their licenses had expired in October. “The majority of the work on those renewal applications is complete,” she said. “They were conditionally approved by TEL for operations.

“At this point, we are looking at all of the operators’ files to see what, if anything, is outstanding. We should be able to give a full report at our February meeting about whether anything is outstanding. I anticipate that any outstanding items will be completed by that time.”

SWAC officials have been engaged in conversations with all of the licensed operators, Thomas said. “We’ve had a lot of discussion with operators about their reporting to us on suspicious activity, the steps that they take to prevent it, and how they document it,” she said. “We have operators who I think are really watching what’s happening on their platforms.

“We are learning a lot from the ‘back office’ access that we’ve been given by a couple of operators. We have read-only access where we can actually go in and see how they are handling different issues — like a player complaint or suspicious activity.

“When you pair that with the GeoComply access that we have and the reporting that we’re able to access on US Integrity’s website, we really have a lot of data at our fingertips to be able to see what is happening in real-time at the operator level. It’s a lot more information than I think the general public would know.”

During the meeting, SWAC Chairman William Orgel asked Thomas if some sportsbooks wouldn’t be approved in time to accept wagers on the Super Bowl. “I was just curious,” he said. “I’m sure there’s some time [needed to complete the approval process, but] that’s a big wagering moment.”

Thomas conceded that some sportsbooks wouldn’t be off the ground by then.

“*We are doing everything we can to approve as quickly as we can*,” she said. “Some things are, frankly, out of our control as far as how fast we can accomplish them. But we are trying to move at the speed of business and do everything we possibly can.”

SWAC will meet next at 11 am on February 10. The agency will discuss enacting permanent rules for the state’s gaming regimen.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling (VACPG) helpline at 1-888-532-3500

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