- WynnBET has received conditional approval to launch mobile betting in Tennessee.
- WynnBET now has market access in nine states.
- Tennessee’s lottery run sports betting has arguably the worst regulatory framework in the US.
The utter contempt that the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation has for sports bettors in the state borders on comical. The state motto of Tennessee is ‘Education and Commerce’. The state motto of Tennessee sports betting should be ‘Screw the Player’. There is not a state level regulatory framework anywhere in the United States that is so cynically and obviously set up to make it impossible for the player to win. Come to think of it, there might not be a worse sports betting jurisdiction in the entire world–at least from the player’s standpoint.
Here at SPORTSINSIDER.COM we spare no effort and expense to bring you the news. For that reason, we’ve obtained this confidential internal document outlining the target demographic for sports betting in Tennessee:
This is why we understand completely why companies want to open up shop in Tennessee. When the state *requires* a hold of 10% or more for sports betting you’re not going to be attracting the best and the brightest when it comes to players. Any player who doesn’t meet one or more of the conditions from the diagram above will play at a reputable sportsbook offshore. The Tennessee regulatory framework effectively filters out any player that isn’t the ‘squarest of the squares’ before they even get to the sportsbook level. At that point, the bookmakers have carte blanche to carve players up with the poor odds and other negative EV wagers necessary to meet a mandatory hold of 10%. Tennessee sports betting is a license to print money for the state and for bookmakers and–an utter disaster for players.
The latest sports betting platform to join the Volunteer State gravy train is WynnBET. They’ve been conditionally approved by the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation’s Board of Directors pending the requisite jumping through hoops before they can go live. Anyway, here’s the press release:
WynnBET, the premier casino and sports betting app from the global leader in luxury hospitality, Wynn Resorts, announces that it has been conditionally approved for sports gaming in Tennessee. The Sports Wagering Committee of the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation’s Board of Directors approved WynnBET to operate its online sports betting app throughout the state, pending fulfillment of statutory and regulatory requirements to go-live.
Tennessee marks the ninth state that WynnBET has gained market access to as the Company fast-tracks its growth plan to meet the demands of the quickly moving online and mobile sports betting industry.
Inspired by Wynn Resorts unmatched expertise in customer service and sophisticated brand experience, the WynnBET app offers an ultra-intuitive and highly responsive interface that delivers hundreds of sports betting options to delight both aficionados and beginners alike. With its acquisition of BetBull in 2020, WynnBET is built on a foundation of highly social sports-betting technology and one-of-a-kind experiences so that wagering and winning can be a celebrated and shared experience.
Good for WynnBET. Even with Tennessee’s exorbitant licensing fees and tax rate it’s pretty much a no-lose situation for ‘the house’ and as a WYNN stockholder (NASDAQ: WYNN) I like that. That’s the job of a publicly held company, after all–to increase shareholder value. State lotteries are already ‘taxes on ignorance’ and particularly that of the mathematical variety. No surprise that they’re completely unqualified to run sports betting–unless they tilt the field like Tennessee has done to make sure they can’t possibly lose money.
At the time of publication, Ross Everett has a long position in WYNN.
