Tennessee Sports Betting: Legal TN Sportsbooks, Apps, Laws & Bonuses

Yes. Online sports wagering with licensed operators has been legal in Tennessee since Nov. 1, 2020. The market is regulated by the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council, known as the SWC. The important distinction is the format. Online and mobile betting through a licensed operator is legal. Retail sportsbooks, betting kiosks and placing a bet with a bookie are all illegal. There is one narrow exception: low-level sports entertainment pools, such as a March Madness bracket organized by an individual rather than a business, where the total pool is less than 1,000 dollars and the entry fee is 25 dollars or less.

Tennessee is one of only two states, along with Wyoming, that offers online sports betting without any in-person option. The state has no commercial casinos, no tribal gaming and no racinos, which makes its online-only structure unlike anywhere else in the country.

Who Can Bet in Tennessee

You must be at least 21 years old and physically present within state lines when you place a wager. Every licensed operator uses geolocation technology to confirm your location before accepting a bet, so if location services are blocked you will not be able to wager. You do not have to be a Tennessee resident to bet legally. Visitors from out of state can wager as long as they are inside Tennessee when the bet is placed. If you open an account in Tennessee and then travel to a state where betting is illegal, you will not be able to place a wager there, though you can still withdraw your funds from anywhere. Proxy betting, where one person places a wager on behalf of someone else, is illegal even with permission.

Types of Welcome Bonuses

A first-bet offer covers your opening wager up to a stated maximum, refunding it in bonus bets if it loses. BetMGM’s up-to-1,500-dollar offer is the largest example in the state. These suit bettors with larger bankrolls who want to place one big opening bet.

A bet-and-get, or bonus-bet, offer requires only a small qualifying wager, often 5 or 10 dollars, and then credits you a fixed amount of bonus bets regardless of outcome. DraftKings, FanDuel and bet365 commonly run these, and they are well suited to newer or lower-stakes bettors.

A deposit match adds a percentage of your first deposit as bonus funds, up to a cap. These have become rarer but are valuable when available. DraftKings has at times offered a deposit match alongside its bet-and-get.

A no-deposit bonus credits a small amount just for registering, with no deposit required. These are uncommon and usually low in value, but they carry no risk.

A referral bonus rewards existing players for bringing in friends, typically a 10-to-100-dollar bonus bet or cashback once the referred player signs up and deposits.

Important Bonus Terms to Check

Bonus bets are not withdrawable as cash and must be wagered. Most bonus bets expire quickly, often in seven days. Many offers require minimum odds, commonly minus 500 or longer, on the qualifying bet. Some offers require a promo code at sign-up while others apply automatically. New players can generally claim one welcome bonus per sportsbook, so signing up with multiple licensed books is a legitimate way to maximize value. Always read the full terms in the app before opting in.

Existing-Customer Promotions and Loyalty Programs

Welcome bonuses get the headlines, but the ongoing promotions you receive as an existing customer often deliver more value over time. Tennessee bettors should look at what each book offers after sign-up. Odds boosts and profit boosts increase the payout on selected games or props, and books like Caesars and DraftKings refresh a boost page almost daily. Parlay insurance, or a same-game-parlay second chance, refunds your stake as a bonus bet if your multi-leg wager loses by a single leg. Bet-and-get reload offers appear around marquee events. Seasonal and team-specific promos are common, such as FanDuel’s MLB Dinger Tuesday, which returns a bonus bet for each home run hit, or BetMGM’s NBA parlay boost tokens.

Every major book also runs a loyalty program. BetMGM ties betting activity into MGM Rewards, redeemable across MGM casinos and resorts. Caesars Rewards lets frequent bettors earn tier credits and bonus cash usable as real money. Fanatics uses FanCash, which can be spent on bonus bets or on merchandise at the Fanatics retail store. DraftKings has Dynasty Rewards, and Hard Rock Bet ties into its broader brand rewards. These programs reward consistent play with boosts, bonus bets and perks.

Because Tennessee is online-only, the mobile app is the entire sportsbook. There is no retail counter to fall back on, which makes app speed, stability and ease of use far more important here than in states with physical locations. Every licensed operator offers a free app for both iPhone (App Store) and Android (Google Play), and each one also runs a full mobile-browser and desktop website. All of them use geolocation to confirm you are inside Tennessee before accepting a wager.

What to Look For in a Tennessee Betting App

When choosing an app, the things that matter most are speed and reliability under load, since apps slow down during peak traffic on Titans Sundays, Predators nights and March Madness; the depth and organization of betting markets and props; the quality of the live-betting interface; banking options and payout speed; the strength of welcome and ongoing promotions; and customer support availability. App store ratings give a quick read: FanDuel, DraftKings, bet365, Caesars and Fanatics all rate highly on iOS, while Android ratings vary more by operator.

How App Performance Compares

FanDuel and DraftKings are widely regarded as the fastest and most stable apps in the state, rarely freezing even during heavy traffic, and both offer clean same-game-parlay builders with live bet-slip math as you add legs. bet365 brings a polished, internationally proven interface built around live betting and live streaming. BetMGM offers deep markets and an Edit My Bet tool. Caesars is clean and reliable with a daily odds-boost page. Fanatics is improving quickly but some users still report occasional lag. Hard Rock Bet and Bally Bet keep things simple and easy to navigate. ESPN BET integrates betting directly into the ESPN media experience.

How to Download and Get Started

On iPhone, search for the sportsbook in the App Store, download the free app, open it, register, verify your identity and age, enable location services and deposit. On Android, some apps are available in the Google Play Store, and you can always register through the operator’s mobile website. You must be 21 or older and physically located in Tennessee to complete registration and place a wager. Location services must be enabled, since geolocation is mandatory.

Live betting, also called in-play or in-game betting, lets you place wagers after a game has started, with odds and markets that update continuously as the action unfolds. It is one of the most popular features at Tennessee sportsbooks and a major reason app speed matters so much: lines move fast, and a slow or laggy app can cost you the price you wanted. During a Titans drive or a Grizzlies run, the moneyline, spread, total and a rotating set of in-game props all shift in real time.

Live Betting Tools to Know

Cash Out lets you settle an open bet early for a partial payout before the event ends, locking in a profit or cutting a loss rather than waiting for the final result. It is available on many, though not all, eligible wagers. Edit My Bet, offered by BetMGM and a few others, lets you adjust an open wager in real time by adding, removing or swapping legs without starting over. Live same-game parlays let you build multi-leg bets on a game already in progress. Micro-betting, available at some books, lets you wager on the very next play or pitch. Note that Tennessee restricts live, in-game prop betting on college contests, so in-play college markets are more limited than for the pros.

Live Streaming

Several Tennessee books let you watch eligible games directly in the app while you bet. bet365 has one of the strongest live-streaming offerings, and FanDuel streams select events, including some MLB games. Streaming availability depends on the league, the matchup and your account status, so check the app’s live section for what is available on a given day.

Funding a Tennessee betting account is straightforward, but the state has specific banking rules. The most important one is that credit cards are not allowed as a deposit method, a restriction unique to a handful of states. Tennessee also bars the use of funds that were deposited by credit card in another state and then used to bet in Tennessee, and sportsbooks are responsible for enforcing this. Cryptocurrency is not permitted at licensed books.

Legal Deposit Methods

Licensed Tennessee sportsbooks accept a range of legal funding options, including debit cards, online banking and ACH transfers (often through Trustly or VIP Preferred), PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, PayNearMe, Play+ prepaid cards and, at some books, cash at a partnered retail location out of state. Most deposits are instant. Minimum deposits are typically 5 or 10 dollars depending on the operator and method. You complete deposits and withdrawals in the cashier or banking section of the app, usually reached by tapping your balance.

Withdrawals and Payout Speed

Withdrawals take longer than deposits, and the method you choose drives the speed. E-wallets like PayPal, Venmo and Play+ are generally the fastest, often clearing within hours, while online banking and ACH transfers can take one to several business days, and a mailed check is the slowest option. An important rule across nearly all sportsbooks: you usually must withdraw using the same method you deposited with, a security measure that prevents someone else from draining your account to an unfamiliar account. That makes it worth choosing a fast withdrawal method when you make your first deposit. DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and bet365 are all known for processing payouts to e-wallets within hours, sometimes minutes.

Offshore Sites Are Not Legal or Regulated in Tennessee

Offshore sportsbooks are not licensed by the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council and are not regulated by any authority within the United States. Under Tennessee law, placing a wager with an unlicensed sportsbook is a criminal offense under Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-17-502. Just because you can access a website or app from inside Tennessee does not mean it is legal. Many offshore operators advertise aggressively, sometimes using social media campaigns, mailings or celebrity sponsorships to appear legitimate, knowing that enforcement against companies based overseas is difficult. The only way to be certain you are betting legally is to check the SWC’s licensed-operator list before placing a bet.

The Risks of Betting Offshore

The risks are serious. Offshore books do not provide the consumer protections that state law requires of licensed operators. They are not required to hold reserves to pay out winning bets, they are not required to protect your personal and financial information, and they do not have to verify that customers are 21 or older. The regulator has been blunt about the consequences. The SWC has stated plainly that it cannot help players who get into a dispute with an offshore sportsbook. If one of these sites settles a bet incorrectly, freezes your account or refuses to let you withdraw your money, you have no recourse through the state. Several red flags reliably identify an illegal book: extending credit to bettors, accepting cryptocurrency, and offering casino games such as slots or poker or chance-based wagers like the coin toss, all of which are illegal in Tennessee.

What Tennessee Regulators Are Doing About It

The SWC has made shutting down illegal offshore books a primary focus. The regulator has issued more than 600,000 dollars in fines to illegal sportsbooks, sending a series of cease-and-desist orders and assessing civil penalties of 50,000 dollars each on operators that fail to comply. The Sports Gaming Act lets the council fine an unlicensed operator 10,000 dollars for a first offense, 15,000 dollars for a second and 25,000 dollars for each subsequent occurrence, where an occurrence is a single wager accepted in Tennessee. Several offshore books, including Bovada, have exited the state under this pressure, and the council is working with state and federal law enforcement and the Tennessee Attorney General’s office to pursue the rest and turn fines into enforceable judgments.

Closest to Memphis and West Tennessee

Memphis sits at the corner of three states, giving West Tennessee bettors the most convenient access to retail sportsbooks anywhere in the state.

Southland Casino Hotel in West Memphis, Arkansas, is the single closest option, located roughly six to eight miles from downtown Memphis, about an 11-minute drive. Southland completed a 250 million dollar renovation that added a 300-room hotel tower, and its gaming floor spans more than 80,000 square feet with over 2,000 slot machines and live table games, plus sports betting.

Tunica, Mississippi, sits about 30 to 45 miles south of Memphis and is home to a cluster of full-service casino resorts. Gold Strike Casino Resort is the flagship, a 31-story tower with more than 1,200 slot machines, dozens of table games and a sportsbook. Horseshoe Tunica, Hollywood Casino Tunica, Fitz Tunica, Sam’s Town and 1st Jackpot Casino also operate on the Tunica strip, several with sportsbooks, making Tunica the most concentrated retail betting destination for Tennessee players.

Closest to Knoxville and East Tennessee

For East Tennessee, the best option is across the North Carolina line. Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort in Cherokee, North Carolina, sits about 90 minutes from Knoxville, just outside Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is the largest casino in the Carolinas, with a 150,000 square foot gaming floor, more than 3,000 games and a Caesars Sportsbook. Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino in Murphy, North Carolina, is a second option further south that completed a major expansion in 2025, adding a hotel tower and a World Series of Poker room.

Closest to Nashville and Middle Tennessee

Nashville is the most landlocked of Tennessee’s major cities when it comes to casino access, with no especially close option. Bettors in Clarksville and the northern Middle Tennessee area can cross into Kentucky, where Oak Grove Racing, Gaming and Hotel near Fort Campbell offers more than 1,300 gaming machines, and the Mint Gaming Hall sits near the border as well. From central Nashville, any retail sportsbook involves a multi-hour drive, which is why the overwhelming majority of Middle Tennessee bettors rely on the legal online apps instead.

2016: Daily Fantasy Sports Legalized

Then-Gov. Bill Haslam signed the Fantasy Sports Act in 2016, making Tennessee one of the earlier states to legalize and regulate daily fantasy sports. This set the stage for the state’s later move into sports betting.

2018: The Door Opens and a First Bill Arrives

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on state-sponsored sports betting in May 2018. That November, Rep. Rick Staples introduced a bipartisan bill to legalize sports betting in Tennessee.

2019: The Tennessee Sports Gaming Act Passes

In 2019, the Tennessee General Assembly passed the Tennessee Sports Gaming Act, the legislation that created the state’s online-only framework. Gov. Bill Lee, who was morally opposed to gambling, declined to sign the bill but allowed it to become law without his signature, saying he believed legalizing sports betting was in the state’s best interest. Sports betting officially became legal in the state in 2019, though it would take more than a year to launch.

2020: Rules Finalized and Statewide Launch

In April 2020, after months of revisions, the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation approved the finalized regulations, including a 10 percent hold mandate for operators, and opened the licensing process. On Nov. 1, 2020, online sports betting launched statewide. Four operators went live on day one: FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and the Tennessee-based Action 24/7. The launch made Tennessee the first state in the country to operate a sports betting market with no retail locations whatsoever. In its first month, the state took in more than 131 million dollars in handle.

2021: Rapid Expansion

More operators entered through 2021, including Caesars in March, WynnBET in April, and Barstool and Wagr in September. Tennessee surpassed 2 billion dollars in total handle within its first 12 months, the fifth-fastest state to reach that mark. Action 24/7 was briefly suspended in 2021 over compliance issues before an injunction allowed it back online.

Jan. 1, 2022: The Sports Wagering Council Takes Over

On Jan. 1, 2022, regulatory authority transferred from the Tennessee Education Lottery to a dedicated body, then called the Sports Wagering Advisory Council and now branded the Sports Wagering Council. This gave the market a regulator focused solely on sports betting.

July 1, 2023: A New Tax Model

On July 1, 2023, Public Chapter 450 took effect and overhauled how the state taxes sportsbooks. The previous structure assessed a 20 percent privilege tax on adjusted gross income and required operators to meet a 10 percent hold, a requirement unique to Tennessee that effectively worked out to about 2 percent of handle. The new law replaced all of that with a flat 1.85 percent tax on handle, the total dollar amount wagered. It is one of the most unusual tax models in the country and remains in force.

2024 to 2026: Consolidation, Enforcement and New Fights

The market consolidated as smaller books exited under the pressure of the handle-based tax, while bet365 joined in March 2025 and Bally Bet went live in October 2024. The SWC ramped up enforcement against unlicensed offshore operators, sent cease-and-desist orders to prediction-market platforms such as Kalshi, Polymarket and Crypto.com, and saw a federal judge grant Kalshi a preliminary injunction in early 2026. Tennessee also moved to ban sweepstakes casinos, with the governor signing anti-sweepstakes legislation in May 2026, and lawmakers proposed restrictions on betting at or near college campuses with a proposed effective date of July 1, 2026.

The Sports Wagering Council

The SWC oversees licensing, registration and enforcement for online sports wagering, and it also serves as a problem-gambling liaison. It maintains the official list of licensed operators, the list of approved betting events, the player grievance process and the self-exclusion program. You can find the regulator at tn.gov/swac.

The Tennessee Sports Gaming Act and Rules

The Tennessee Sports Gaming Act is the statute that authorizes and governs sports betting in the state. The full act and the associated rules are published by the SWC at tn.gov/swac/rules.

The 1.85 Percent Privilege Tax

Licensed operators pay a privilege tax of 1.85 percent on their total handle rather than on revenue. This is calculated, in basic terms, as total wagers minus adjustments for voided or cancelled bets and the federal excise tax. The structure is unique among legal U.S. markets and has squeezed margins for smaller operators, accelerating consolidation. Operators also pay a substantial annual licensing fee.

Banking and Payment Rules

Tennessee law prohibits funding a betting account with a credit card. The banking prohibition also applies to deposits made from outside Tennessee that are then used to bet in the state. Wagering with cryptocurrency is not permitted, and any site that accepts it is operating illegally. Legal deposit methods at licensed books include debit cards, online bank transfers, PayPal, PayNearMe and similar processors. Deposits are typically instant while withdrawals take longer to process.

Taxes on Your Winnings

Tennessee has no personal state income tax on gambling winnings, but all winnings are taxable at the federal level. Licensed sportsbooks typically withhold a portion of substantial winnings for federal taxes, generally 24 to 25 percent if you provide your Social Security number and a higher rate if you decline. Keep records of your activity for tax season.

Official Resources and Links

For primary sources, see the list of licensed operators at tn.gov/swac/licensees-registrants, the Tennessee Sports Gaming Act and rules at tn.gov/swac/rules, the frequently asked questions at tn.gov/swac/about/faqs, the player complaint form at tn.gov/swac/inquires/complaint, and the self-exclusion form at tn.gov/swac/forms/self-exclusion. To report an unlicensed sportsbook, email SWAC.Gaming@tn.gov.

Tennessee Titans (NFL)

Football is king in Tennessee, and the Titans drive the most betting action in the state. The NFL is the most popular league for Tennessee bettors, and the Titans are a frequent focus for moneyline, spread, totals and player-prop wagers.

Memphis Grizzlies (NBA)

The Grizzlies relocated to Memphis in 2001 and have been a regular playoff presence. NBA betting is consistently popular in the state, and the Grizzlies draw strong local interest.

Nashville Predators (NHL)

The Predators have made the playoffs many times since joining the NHL in 1998, including a run to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final. They play at Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville and anchor the state’s hockey betting.

College Sports

College betting is fair game in Tennessee, and the Tennessee Volunteers, Vanderbilt Commodores and Memphis Tigers are among the most popular wagers in the state. You can bet on both in-state and out-of-state college games. However, the state prohibits prop bets on individual college athletes or teams, and live, in-game prop betting on college contests is restricted as well. March Madness is one of the busiest betting periods of the year.

Other Markets

Beyond the big leagues, Tennessee bettors can wager on soccer, golf, NASCAR, tennis, MMA, and even smaller markets like cricket and table tennis. Esports betting is legal but each event must be individually approved by the SWC before a sportsbook can offer odds. The NFL Draft is also a legal betting market across all seven rounds.

High School and Youth Sports

You cannot bet on high school sports or any other amateur competition involving underage athletes. This is one of the firmest lines in Tennessee law. The reasoning is straightforward: these are minors, and exposing teenage athletes to betting markets creates obvious risks of pressure, harassment and integrity problems. No licensed Tennessee sportsbook will ever post odds on a high school game, and any site that does is operating illegally. This prohibition has no exceptions, regardless of the sport or the level of public interest in a particular team or player.

Prop Bets on Individual College Athletes

College game betting is legal in Tennessee, so you can wager on the Tennessee Volunteers, Vanderbilt Commodores, Memphis Tigers and out-of-state college teams with moneylines, spreads and totals. What you cannot do is place a prop bet on an individual college athlete or on specific college player or team performance props. That means no wagers on how many passing yards a college quarterback will throw for, how many points a college basketball player will score, or similar player-specific outcomes. Tennessee adopted this restriction, which a growing number of states share, to reduce the risk that unpaid amateur athletes could be targeted, pressured or harassed by bettors over their individual statistics. The NCAA has actively lobbied states to ban exactly these markets.

Live, In-Game College Prop Betting

Beyond the ban on individual college player props, Tennessee also restricts live, in-play prop betting on college contests. While you can place live moneyline, spread and total bets on many pro games as they unfold, in-game college prop markets are limited or unavailable. This narrows the live-betting menu for college games compared with professional sports and is another layer of protection aimed at college-athletics integrity. The exact scope of what is permitted in-game can shift with regulatory interpretation, so confirm the available college markets in your sportsbook before the game.

Politics and Elections

Betting on politics is prohibited in Tennessee at every level. You cannot wager on the outcome of a presidential race, a Senate or House contest, a state or local election, or any other political event through a licensed Tennessee sportsbook. Sports wagering in the state is restricted to actual sporting events, and political outcomes fall entirely outside that definition. This is separate from the ongoing national fight over prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket, which offer event contracts on elections and which Tennessee regulators have moved to block within the state.

Entertainment and Novelty Betting

Wagering on entertainment outcomes is illegal in Tennessee. That includes betting on awards shows like the Oscars or the Grammys, reality-television results, and similar pop-culture events. Because Tennessee law ties legal wagering to genuine sporting competition, these novelty markets are not permitted, even though some other jurisdictions allow them. The one narrow sports-adjacent exception many bettors ask about is that you can wager on certain elements directly tied to a sporting event, such as the result of the Super Bowl coin toss, which is offered as part of the game’s betting menu.

Unlicensed and Offshore Sportsbooks

Finally, betting through any unlicensed or offshore sportsbook is illegal in Tennessee regardless of what market you are betting on, even if it is a market that would be perfectly legal at a licensed book. As covered in the offshore section above, placing a wager with an unlicensed operator is a criminal offense under state law, and the state cannot help you recover funds if something goes wrong. The legality of a bet in Tennessee depends not only on what you are betting on but on whether the operator is licensed by the Sports Wagering Council.

Understanding the Odds

Tennessee sportsbooks display American odds by default. A minus sign marks the favorite and shows how much you must wager to win 100 dollars. For example, at minus 120 you bet 120 dollars to win 100 dollars in profit. A plus sign marks the underdog and shows how much you win on a 100-dollar bet. At plus 180 a 100-dollar bet returns 180 dollars in profit. Some apps let you switch to decimal or fractional odds.