Tennessee reported a drop in online sports gambling handle, revenue and taxes paid in June compared to the previous month, but did see increases in same-month, year-over-year comparisons.
Across the country, sports wagering handle has been down in June as the sports calendar — dominated by baseball — apparently holds less appeal for the gambling public.
In June, Tennessee -- where the sports gambling is limited to online action only — the betting handle was about $215.8 million. That was a 17.5% decline from May (about $261.6 million) but it was a 23.7% increase from June 2021 (($174.5 million).
While the Tennessee all-online betting market is strong, several neighboring states have yet to legalize online betting. Georgia sports betting has not been legalized along with Kentucky, Missouri and Alabama. North Carolina has retail betting while Virginia, Mississippi and Arkansas have legal wagering markets.
Tennessee Sports Betting, June vs. May
Tennessee Adjusted Gross Income Takes a Hit
As far as Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) was concerned, the month-to-month drop was even greater than the handle. June’s sports betting AGI in Tennessee was about $12.8 million, down 46.2% from May, when it was about $23.8 million. The June 2022 AGI also was down 20.5% from the June 2021 AGI ($16.1 million).
The hold percentage for June was about 7.35%, which is in line with the range of expected hold percentages in the sports wagering industry.
The slump in AGI adversely impacted taxes. The June privilege tax was nearly $2.56 million, down 45.8% from May ($4.77 million) and also down 18.7% from the June 2021 AGI of $3.2 million.
Will 2023 Be The Year for Georgia Sports Betting?
It’s likely that Georgia will have several sports betting bills to consider in 2023. But if a bill gets approved there would probably need to be a state referendum.
A sports betting bill and a gambling bill failed to get out of the House in 2022 before the legislative session ended.
Sports betting is backed by the pro teams in Georgia.
