Tennessee Gambling Laws – Overview in TN

Tennessee is among the states with the toughest gambling laws in America. In many aspects, they are similar to the gambling laws in Texas, Hawaii, and South Carolina. There is merely a handful of legal gambling activities in the state. In recent years, however, we have seen some promising changes in favor of gambling. Make sure to read this in-depth article to learn everything you need to know about the Tennessee gambling laws.

Commercial casinos are illegal according to the gambling laws in Tennessee. This means that residents and visitors of the Volunteer State do not have access to traditional casino games such as slots, poker, blackjack, roulette, etc. There are limited betting options available. Charitable gaming is permitted but strictly regulated. Online gambling is also considered illegal according to the gambling laws Tennessee currently has in place.

History of Gambling Laws in Tennessee

The state of Tennessee used to have very liberal gambling laws during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Things started to deteriorate from there on and culminated with the Prohibition era in 1920 when all forms of gambling activities were made illegal and banned across the country. Following the end of Prohibition in 1933, unlike most of the other states, Tennessee did not change its regulations and kept its gambling restrictions.

In 1971, the Tennessee state legalized charitable bingo activities. This, however, did not last long since, in 1989, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled bingo to be an unconstitutional and unauthorized charitable gambling activity. This was after Operation Rocky Top – an undercover investigation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) in 1986.

The investigation was into illegal charity bingo activities, including the illegal sale of bingo licenses. Operation Rocky Top went public in 1989, and by the end of the investigation, there were over 50 convictions. Several politicians were imprisoned, most notably, the Majority Leader of the Tennessee House of Representatives at the time and member of the Democratic party – Tommy Burnett. He was sentenced to five years in prison and ended up serving 16 months before being released.

The pari-mutuel horse race betting became legal under gambling laws Tennessee in 1987. Tennessee is among the last American states to legalize a state lottery. The Tennessee State Lottery Implementation Law was passed in 2002, with the ticket sales starting about two years later, in January 2004. Most recently, daily fantasy sports betting was legalized under the Fantasy Sports Act of 2016, and mobile and online sports betting was legalized in Tennessee under the Tennessee Sports Gaming Act of 2019.

Gambling Laws in Tennessee – Legal & Illegal Activities

The strict Tennessee gambling laws prohibit pretty much all commercial casino games. Slots, blackjack, roulette, poker, etc., all fall under the illegal gambling category. There are no land-based casinos in the whole state, not even Native American casinos, or bingo halls. Tennessee residents could potentially visit neighboring states, where brick and mortar casinos are legal.

Online sports betting, including horse race betting and daily fantasy sports betting, are currently legal. This is also true for charitable gambling and the state lottery. Online gambling is illegal in the state. Finally, we have social gambling, which is implicitly illegal in the state. This means that private poker games or any other type of gambling activities including real money bets are strictly prohibited by the TN gambling laws. For reference, you can review the New York gambling laws, which are among the most liberal gambling laws in the country.

Tennessee State Lottery

With 58% of the vote, the statewide referendum to permit a lottery in Tennessee was passed in November of 2002. The Tennessee State Lottery was officially opened for business on 20th January 2004. The lottery is run by the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation (TELC), which was created and authorized in 2003 by the Tennessee General Assembly consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The purpose of TELC is to operate the lottery games and gain money for education programs in the state. Currently, the Tennessee Lottery offers the following games:

Cash 3, Cash 4, and Tennessee Cash are in-house draw games. Powerball, Mega Millions, Lotto America, KENO To Go, and Cash4Life are multi-jurisdictional games. Tennessee has been a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) since 2004 and joined Cash4Life in 2015. Lottery tickets are sold by authorized and licensed retailers only. The total amount raised for education by the Tennessee State Lottery since its beginning is over $6,000,000,000.

Sports Betting Options in the State of Tennessee

Up until a couple of years ago, sports betting of any kind was prohibited by the gambling laws in Tennessee. This changed in 2019 when online sports betting was legalized under the Tennessee Sports Gaming Act. Since then, Tennessee residents and visitors can freely bet on their favorite sports via authorized sites and mobile applications.

Some of the most popular sports events you can bet on in the state include the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), National Hockey League (NHL), Auto Racing (NASCAR), and horse racing. The legal age for online sports betting on the territory of Tennessee is 21 years of age.

Daily Fantasy Sports Betting in the State of Tennessee

Daily fantasy sports betting was legalized under the Fantasy Sports Act of 2016. DFS betting activities are regulated by the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation. Both residents and visitors of Tennessee are free to try their luck at DFS betting, except for individuals associated with professional and/or college sports teams, such as coaches or athletes. Some of the most popular DFS sites eligible and available for Tennessee players are TwinSpires, FanDuel, and DraftKings.

Charitable Gambling Activities in Tennessee

Charitable gambling activities are legal in Tennessee under the Tennessee Nonprofit Gaming Law. It is regulated by the Tennessee Secretary of State – Division of Charitable Solicitations and Gaming. According to the Tennessee Nonprofit Gaming Law, only non-profit organizations exempt from taxes under sections 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(19) from the Internal Revenue Code can operate and hold charity gambling events in Tennessee.

Each organization must apply and pay a non-refundable fee, then receive authorization from the General Assembly before being able to hold charitable gambling events. The legal charity gambling activities include raffles, reverse raffles, cakewalks, and cakewheels. Starting from July 2022, bingo would also be included in the permitted charity games, and only one bingo event could be held each year. Approved organizations can start selling tickets for their events within 120 days prior to the event’s date. There are certain limitations to the prizes of each charity gambling activity.

Tennessee Stand on Land-Based Casinos

There are no land-based casinos in Tennessee. What is more, there has never been an operational licensed casino on the territory of the state. There are not even Native American casinos or bingo halls available in Tennessee. From the looks of it, this is not going to change any time soon.

It is highly unlikely that the Tennessee state will legalize brick-and-mortar casinos. Gambling lovers have only the opportunity to take a trip to some of the nearby states where casinos are legal. Mississippi and Missouri are two feasible options. The Missouri gambling laws, for example, are more liberal. There are 13 land-based casinos in the state, all of which are available for visitors from Tennessee.

Tennessee Online Gambling Laws

Online gambling is illegal according to Tennessee online gambling laws. There are no casino sites registered and operated by Tennessee-based operators. Residents of the state, however, could freely gamble at offshore casino sites available for U.S. players and specifically TN players. Since offshore online gambling is not regulated by the state, it is crucial, and we strongly recommend that you carefully review the credibility of each online casino site to ensure your safety.

Legal Age for Gambling in the State of Tennessee

It is extremely important to know the legal age for gambling in the state you live in and any US state you plan to visit with the purpose of gambling. This way, you would avoid unnecessary issues with law authorities. The age usually varies depending on the specific gambling activity. In the table below, we have summarised the legal gambling activities and the corresponding legal age for each of them.

If you prefer online sports betting, including horse race betting, you should be 21 years of age and older to participate. 18+ is the legal age for the rest of the legal gambling activities in the state. We have also prepared a detailed article on the legal gambling age in the USA, where you can see the legal gambling age for each gambling activity in all 50 states.

Gambling Laws Tennessee – Closing Words

Gambling laws in Tennessee are quite restrictive. There are no land-based or Native American casinos operating in the state. Most of the casino games we play, and love are prohibited by the law. Gambling enthusiasts must travel to another state if they wish to enjoy a brick-and-mortar casino experience.

On a more positive note, in recent years, Tennessee has made some promising changes towards softening the gambling laws in the state. Online sports betting has been legalized. The same goes for daily fantasy sports betting. In 2022, bingo would be available for charitable gambling events again, which is quite something considering the state’s history with this specific gambling activity. We believe that the state will continue working in the same direction, and further changes could be expected. For the time being, we recommend that you review our selection of the best USA online casinos.

TN Gambling Laws – Frequently Asked Questions

If you have read this article, then you can safely say that you know pretty much all details regarding gambling in the Volunteer State. Still, if you feel like there were questions left unanswered, make sure to have a look at our helpful FAQ section below.

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