Latest Tennessee Sports Betting Handle and Taxes Information
The experts at BetTennessee.com have developed this guide to help you better understand the terms used when discussing Tennessee sports betting handle and taxes. The state releases those figures monthly.
Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill to legalize sports betting in April 2019, and the law officially took effect on July 1, 2019. The first sportsbooks opened in the state in November 2020. The Volunteer State was the first to legalize online wagering only and exclude brick-and-mortar establishments from setting up shop.
Currently, there are 13 operators, some with Tennessee sportsbook promos available, licensed to take wager in the state. The most recent was ZenSports, which was approved in May 2023.
| Total Handle | Privilege tax |
February | $460.000M | $8.510M |
January | $534.585M | $9.890M |
Change | Down 14.0% | Down 14.0% |
The second month of the year delivered a 14.0% drop in Tennessee sports betting gross handle and taxes generated compared to January, according to a monthly report from the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council filed on March 16.
February was rough for operators at the tail end of the NFL postseason, but that’s typical for the month. In a year-over-year comparison, Tennessee’s sports wagering action was almost $50 million higher than February 2025 ($413.5 million).
In total, February sports betting gross handle in the Volunteer State was $460,000,038, down 14.0% from January ($534,585,161) in a month-over-month comparison. Privilege taxes fell at the same rate, from $9,889,825 in the first month of 2026 to $8,510,001 last month.
As a reminder, Tennessee’s sports betting market is all mobile. The state no longer reports monthly revenue; the Council releases only wagering handle and tax information each month.
Tennessee Mobile Sports Betting History
Tennessee Sports Betting Handle and Revenue FAQs
Tennessee sports betting operators accepted about $5.82 billion in wagers in 2025. That represented a 10.6% increase from the $5.265 billion in wagers in 2024 at Tennessee sportsbook apps.
When Tennessee lawmakers first legalized sports betting, they established a 20% tax on revenue. However, they passed a new bill during the General Assembly’s 2023 session that changed how the state generates revenue from sports betting. Starting in July 2023, Tennessee is charging a 1.85% tax on the handle, or the amount wagered in a month, minus the 0.25% federal handle excise tax. The Volunteer State is the first sports betting state in the nation to raise revenue in such a fashion. The state no longer reports revenue generated, only handle and taxes.
Tennessee no longer releases its revenue figures every month, instead, they share handle and tax info and the data is posted on the state’s Sports Wagering Council’s website (tn.gov/swac).
Author
Christopher Boan writes for BetTennessee.com and has been covering sports and sports betting for more than seven years, with experience at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.