Tennessee’s Sports Wagering Council reported $465.8 million in sports betting handle for January, the third-highest monthly total in the state’s 39 months of legal wagering. The state received close to $8.6 million in tax revenue under its 1.85% handle levy.
The reported handle and tax receipts inform operators and policymakers about Tennessee’s wagering market and tax model.
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Underdog has filed suit against Tennessee sports betting regulators to stop them applying state gambling law to its prediction market business. This follows an 9 October cease-and-desist order from the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council, which threatened civil penalties, criminal investigations and revocation of Underdog's fantasy sports licence. Underdog argues the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has exclusive jurisdiction, and Tennessee is the seventh state it has sued, after a Sixth Circuit ruling against Kalshi in September.
Kalshi asked the full Sixth Circuit to reconsider its 25 September ruling allowing Ohio and Tennessee to pursue enforcement under state gambling laws. The company argues that federal commodities law gives the CFTC authority over contracts traded on designated exchanges; the court has not accepted that argument.
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that Kalshi’s sports-related event contracts did not meet the statutory definition of swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act. The court also found that the Act did not pre-empt Ohio or Tennessee gambling laws, allowing those states’ regulators to pursue enforcement against Kalshi and other prediction-market operators.
A US Senate Commerce subcommittee held a hearing on the effects of sports wagering on amateur and professional sport, with discussion focusing substantially on prediction markets. Chair Marsha Blackburn and other senators raised concerns about competition integrity and consumer safeguards; American Gaming Association chief executive Bill Miller said prediction markets do not provide protections required of licensed sportsbooks.
New York reported $2.47bn in mobile sports betting handle for January, an 8.77% rise from December and a record, according to the report. Gross gaming revenue reached $247m, and $149m was contributed to the Education Fund after adjustments, fines and penalties.