[TN] Tennessee Bingo, Casino and Sports Betting [2021]

Tennessee online gambling remains unaddressed in State Laws. As a consequence, all online casinos, sports betting sites and bingo online is offered by offshore based, licensed and regulated providers.

Online Gambling

• Offshore online casinos accept players from Tennessee
• There are no state regulated online onshore operators
• Tennessee State Lottery holds monopoly on lottery products, with none interactive.
• Commercial licenses are not available for land based casinos and slots facilities, therefore there are no onshore online providers.

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Best 5 Tennessee Online Casinos

Online casino activity is currently available and offered through various sites that are based offshore. These sites are safe and secure to play at, with no risk posed to Tennessee players, both regarding legality or to player data protection.

The best online casinos all use the latest SSL internet technology, and feature secure payment methods that are common, trusted and processed by reputable financial institutions. These include: VISA, MasterCard, Amex, Bitcoin (BTC), direct wire transfers and many other methods.

Casino Bonuses are extremely important in selecting an online casino. We have therefore displayed some of the best casino bonuses that can be found whilst balancing other important criteria such as safety and security as previously mentioned. However, for ease of reference, we have listed them according to the size of bonus.

Without doubt, at the time of writing, El Royale Casino offers the best casino bonus deal. It is also one of the safest. Coupled with excellent customer service, El Royale is our top recommended online casino for Tennessee players.

Online Live Dealer Games

Online Live Dealer games have become increasingly popular in Tennessee. In particular among players who are slightly sceptical of RNG driven online games. Though online tables games offered by the best online casinos have been audited by independent third parties, understandably there are some players that still have their doubts.

Coupled with the rising spread of the corona virus in 2020, many have therefore turned to online live dealer games.

Online live dealer games are a recent phenomenon due to the advancement hardware processing speeds and faster internet bandwidth. We now have the ability to see and interact through High Definition video streaming, view real time play with crystal clear screens and monitors, and use instant chat seamlessly with the dealer and other players.

Online live dealer games also have features that would otherwise not be available at land based casinos. An example is the ability to place unlimited bet behind bets. This means, you or any player can bet behind another player as many times as you want with as many other players as you want. There is no limit, unlike at a land based casinos where the results are manually processed by a dealer, and the table space is limited.

As well as features found only through online play, that casino bonuses are also applicable which sets it much more attractive than land based casino dealer games.

If you are new to playing online, and reluctant to try RNG games, why not try online live dealers.

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Sports Betting

The US has a history of constantly revising the legality of sports betting. It wasn’t until May 2018 that the PASPA Federal law banning States from offering sports betting was overturned in the Supreme Court, allowing each State to dictate the legality of sports betting. As a result many US states have legalized sports betting, however, Tennessee has yet to formally do so. As a result Tennessee does not permit on sports wager by onshore providers. Online sports betting sites, however, do exist and they are based offshore. They accept Tennessee bettors, with no precedence of any bettor being informed of a breach in law, let alone charged with a misdemeanor or felony.

The popularity of online sports betting has grown significantly correlating to the growing sport fan base of not only the professional sports of NFL and the NBA, but also with College games and niche bets such as the outcome of an election.

Daily Fantasy Sports

Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) is growing fast in popularity. New to the gambling scene, it is considered a game of skill by many which requires bettors to create a fictitious team based on real players. The performance of the real sports players in real life determine how successful the fictitious team is. As a result, it truly is those with the most “skills” will win.

The two dominate daily fantasy sports providers is DraftKings and FanDuel. On this site, we do not actively promote daily fantasy sports as we understand that it is a game of “skill” which is being exploited by bettors who have the best risk modelling. That is, it isn’t nearly about how well you know your sport, the sport players etc, it is very much about who has the best statistical model and who has access to the most detailed sports player data.

As someone who may be a big fan of sport, and thinking that they would have a good chance of winning money in DFS, think again. You are pitted against statistical modelling experts who deliberately target games that mostly have new players to DFS. In fact, it has been alleged that those who are extremely good at DFS have been known to collaborate among themselves and not compete with each other. Thereby creating a sustainable winning formula shared by the experts.

We therefore want our readers to be aware that DFS is not what is appears to be. In fairness, DFS is legal in Tennessee and many DFS onshore operators accept Tennessee players.

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Top 3 Tennessee Online Bingo Sites

Tennessee bingo laws are stipulated under Charitable gaming state legislation. These laws provide for the licensing of non profit organizations to operate bingo games. At present, these laws do not address nor permit online bingo by onshore operators. Accordingly, online bingo sites that do accept Tennessee players are based offshore (which is the same as online casinos and sports betting sites).

The recommended online bingo sites all accept players from Tennessee. They offer advanced features that include instant messaging, fun bingo games and protocols that ensures bingo participants play together in a civil enjoyable manner. Due to the social aspect of bingo, there is a cultural aspect to bingo which cannot be found with casino or sports betting. As an example, A LOT of acronyms form part of instant chat messaging. If you are not familiar with online bingo lingo, do not be afraid, learning it is one of the most fun parts!

Legal Minimum Gambling Age

• 21 for online casinos, sports betting and bingo sites.
• 18 for lottery, bingo and pari-mutuel betting

Gambling Laws

• Horse race betting, pari-mutuel wagering, and state-state simulcast is authorized at licensed facilities
• Raffles, bingo and other games of chance may be lawfully operated by charitable organizations
• Legislation does not expressly cover online gaming making it lawful for players to engage in the activity subject to age conditions
• Online onshore operators are prohibited.

Gambling Taxes

Revenues generated from gambling activity are circulated to fund charitable purposes.

Regulation and Governance

• Attorney General
• Tennessee Lottery Education Commission

Gambling Legislation

• Tennessee Gambling Code Part 5
• Tennessee Charitable Gaming Implementation Law

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Tennessee Gambling Market Developments

Background

Tennessee has strict legislation on gambling and a general restrictive attitude towards its regulation;

There are, no commercial land-based casinos, or racinos, with no racetracks in Tennessee;

Whilst there has been a recent movement to introduce land-based casino regulation, no material developments should be expected initially.

March 2015

HB1233, was brought forward to the legislature in Q1 2015, to regulate two integrated land-based casino resorts, but the Tennessee Committee did not put the Bill to a vote;

State Representative, Jason Powell, proposed constitutional amendments to authorize land-based casinos, with revenues circulated to fund educational and gambling addiction purposes. A 2/3 majority is required when legislative members vote on HJR 87 in November.

January 2016

Concurrent bills, SB2109 and HB2105, were introduced to the legislature and seek to create an advisory task force to review the legality of fantasy sports contests in the state.

The task force would also recommend revisions to current consumer protection laws with the view to regulating the activity. If the bill passes, the elected group would be required to submit their report by 1 January 2017.
March 2016 Legislators rewrote the daily fantasy sports bills SB2109 and HB2105, to set out regulations and licensing requirements for operators wishing to offer their services in the state. The amendments stipulate that the Secretary of State would be required to make license applications available by 1 July 2016.

The revised daily fantasy sports bill, SB2109, received a 29-1 vote in favor in its final vote in the Senate. The bill will now pass to the House for clearance in its second chamber.

April 2016

Attorney General Herbert Slatery declared daily fantasy sports contests constitute illegal gambling under current state law. The Tennessee Code defines gambling as an activity in which a person risks anything of value for a profit whose return is to any degree contingent on chance. However, a number of bills in the legislature could specifically legalize DFS if passed and signed by the Governor;

Governor Bill Haslam signed daily fantasy sports bill SB2109 into law. Following its revision in March 2016, the bill specifically authorizes DFS and sets out the necessary licensing provisions and regulatory framework.

February 2018

Senator Jack Johnson and House Representative Charles Sargent introduced concurrent bills, SB 1996 and HB 2057, to the legislature to permit the purchasing of lottery tickets with non-cash payment options including; money orders, debit cards and prepaid cards.

November 2018

State Representative, Rick Staples filed HB0001 – The Tennessee Sports Gaming Act – ahead of the 2019 legislative session. The bill sought to regulate online sports betting in counties that vote to approve the activity by local election. The bill would not permit retail sports betting and proposed a tax rate of 10% on licensees gross win.

December 2018

The Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation awarded IGT a three (3) year contract extension to provide self-service lottery machines and expanded keno offerings until 30 June 2025;

Shelby County commissioners voted in favor of authorizing sports betting within the county. The commissioners sent the proposal to the Tennessee General Assembly who would also need to approve the proposed sports betting legislation (HB1) before it can take effect.

March 2019

The House approved HB1 to authorize online sports betting in the state. The bill was sent to the Senate for consideration.

May 2019

Sports betting bill SB16 replaced HB1 and was approved by the Tennessee Senate. It will be sent back to the House for consideration before it can move forward to Governor Bill Lee for signature, although according to press reports Lee would allow the bill to pass without requiring his signature. SB16 would allow wagering online and via remote betting kiosks,
HB0001 was online-only. The tax rate was also reduced, to 20% of gross win from 22.5% previously.

Governor Lee allowed SB16 to pass without his signature despite being opposed to the bill. SB16 passed the House by 51-40 votes last month after the state Senate voted for it 20-12. The Governor said compromise was “a central part of governing, but I remain philosophically opposed to gambling and will not be lending my signature to this cause”.

He also warned that any efforts to expand gambling regulation to include casino in the state will not receive the same treatment as SB16. “We see this issue differently but let me be clear: any future efforts to expand gambling or introduce casinos in Tennessee will assure my veto,” he said.

February 2020

The Tennessee Sports Wagering Advisory Council delayed the approval process of sports betting regulations due to concerns raised by legislators regarding a number of provisions contained within the framework. The Council stated it would not approve the regulations until it had met with the concerned parties and addressed the issues. Whilst no timeline was provided by the Council.

April 2020

The Tennessee Lottery Board gave its final approval to regulations to govern the operation of sports betting in the state. The Board announced it would launch the application process for licenses during the week commencing 20 April 2020 and would have 90 days to award licenses from the date of application.

August 2020

The Tennessee Lottery Board announced the launch of online sports betting in the state would be delayed until 01 November 2020 at the latest. The market had been scheduled to go live on 01 September 2020. The Board reported that four (4) operators had so far submitted license applications.

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Is it legal to gamble online in Tennessee?

Gambling laws vary for each type of game. Online games are not permitted to be offered by onshore gaming operators. As a result, online operators are based offshore at regulated and licensed jurisdictions. Tennessee players are accepted by the offshore operators. In regards, to player legality, the laws neither explicitly declare online gambling as illegal or legal. As a result Tennessee players can continue to enjoy playing online games.

What is the legal minimum age to play at online casinos?

Legal minimum ages vary from online casino to online casino, however their requirement is that the higher of the player’s jurisdiction the the online casino’s own legal minimum is taken to be the determine age limit. Therefore, for Tennessee players the legal minimum age is 21.

What are the best online casinos in Tennessee?

The best online casino at the moment is El Royale. Now although this online casino is relatively new, it is by far the most refreshing online casino to play at. The theme is smooth and integrated with a nice classic storyline. And the games are powered by RealTime Gaming, one of the most trusted and quality gaming providers in the world (let alone the US). It isn’t often that we would recommend an online casino that has been only established for just over two years, but so far, we have found very few complaints and professional service. El Royale have obviously seen a gap in the market to fulfill, i.e. with honesty, transparency and with quality.