Betting on Sports in Tennessee
During the course of this season of winter and this year of 2020 so far, we've heard plenty about the Presidential impeachment proceedings, the Presidential primaries and caucuses, and (this past week) the State of the Union address.
You won't hear nearly as much about the Tennessee General Assembly, which began its session in January. Our governor, Bill Lee, gave the State of the State address on February 3, the night before President Trump addressed a joint session of Congress for the State of the Union. Key issues such as increased spending on education, taxes, pay for college athletes for use of name or likeness, and right to work regardless of union status will have an impact on the lives of young professionals.
In fact, much of what the state legislature does affects your daily life more than what Congress does. Don't get me wrong: Both are certainly important. But as an attorney, I consult the Tennessee Code Annotated a lot more than I do the U.S. Code. Most prosecuted criminal offenses (including misdemeanors), education from kindergarten to graduate school, applying for unemployment benefits, paying child support, the sales taxes and/or property taxes you pay, and road construction are just a few of the issues that are controlled by our state government.
On other fronts, Congress makes decisions that trump what happens on Capitol Hill here in Nashville. For instance, Congress decides whether we continue to observe the annual "spring forward" in March and "fall back" in November - to daylight saving time and back to standard. Last year, the General Assembly passed and Governor Bill Lee signed a law keeping us on daylight saving time year round. But we still shift to standard time for four months of each year because of federal authority.
On other fronts, Congress makes decisions that trump what happens on Capitol Hill here in Nashville. For instance, Congress decides whether we continue to observe the annual "spring forward" in March and "fall back" in November - to daylight saving time and back to standard. Last year, the General Assembly passed and Governor Bill Lee signed a law keeping us on daylight saving time year round. But we still shift to standard time for four months of each year because of federal authority.
One issue that was decided in 2019 by state government was sports betting. Through passage of the Tennessee Sports Gaming Act, legal online sports betting arrived in Tennessee. Attorney Alexander J. Hall, graduate of Memphis Law, wrote an outstanding article about the new law and its implementation in the July 2019 issue of Tennessee Bar Journal. I will be sharing "Place Your Bets" on the Cloud Nine Higher Facebook page and quoting from it here, as well. It begins on page 14 of Volume 55, Number 7 of the monthly publication of the Tennessee Bar Association.
According to "Place Your Bets", Governor Lee allowed the Sports Gaming Act to become law without his signature but also assisted in crafting it. Companies such as FanDuel and DraftKings which are issued a license to offer interactive sports wagering will be overseen and subject to regulation by the education lottery sports wagering advisory council.
The new law imposes a 20% privilege tax on adjusted gross income of a licensee. Eighty percent of these proceeds are to be deposited into the state lottery for education account. Fifteen percent of the proceeds are to go into the state general fund, and five percent are allocated to the department of mental health and substance abuse services.
A person must be 21 years of age or older to bet on sports. Attorney Hall states that the sites will use geo-fencing technology to ensure that bettors are located in Tennessee. Wagers are deemed as enforceable contracts. According to "Place Your Bets", a December 2018 opinion by state attorney general Herbert Slatery distinguished sports betting from chance-based activities forbidden by the Tennessee Constitution (the state Constitution was amended in 2002 by voters to allow for the education lottery).
Individual performances during a collegiate sports event are off limits for wagers. The licensed companies are required to adopt and adhere to a written, comprehensive policy governing the acceptance of wagers and payouts.
And Tennessee now profits from sports betting. I am a big sports fan but am not a gambler in any sense of the term. The Sports Gaming Act likely did not appeal to Governor Lee's Christian faith and values. But I commend the way he approached the issue. He is a Christian but also a thinker. This law is a "win-win" for the sports betting industry, for those who bet responsibly as a form of recreation, and for our state treasury.
James A. Rose
Publisher
According to "Place Your Bets", Governor Lee allowed the Sports Gaming Act to become law without his signature but also assisted in crafting it. Companies such as FanDuel and DraftKings which are issued a license to offer interactive sports wagering will be overseen and subject to regulation by the education lottery sports wagering advisory council.
The new law imposes a 20% privilege tax on adjusted gross income of a licensee. Eighty percent of these proceeds are to be deposited into the state lottery for education account. Fifteen percent of the proceeds are to go into the state general fund, and five percent are allocated to the department of mental health and substance abuse services.
A person must be 21 years of age or older to bet on sports. Attorney Hall states that the sites will use geo-fencing technology to ensure that bettors are located in Tennessee. Wagers are deemed as enforceable contracts. According to "Place Your Bets", a December 2018 opinion by state attorney general Herbert Slatery distinguished sports betting from chance-based activities forbidden by the Tennessee Constitution (the state Constitution was amended in 2002 by voters to allow for the education lottery).
Individual performances during a collegiate sports event are off limits for wagers. The licensed companies are required to adopt and adhere to a written, comprehensive policy governing the acceptance of wagers and payouts.
And Tennessee now profits from sports betting. I am a big sports fan but am not a gambler in any sense of the term. The Sports Gaming Act likely did not appeal to Governor Lee's Christian faith and values. But I commend the way he approached the issue. He is a Christian but also a thinker. This law is a "win-win" for the sports betting industry, for those who bet responsibly as a form of recreation, and for our state treasury.
James A. Rose
Publisher
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