Sports betting is legal in Tennessee, online only, through sportsbooks licensed by the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council (SWC), for people 21 or older who are in the state. The SWC licenses and regulates every sportsbook that takes bets here, and the state has no retail sportsbooks. This guide explains the Tennessee sports betting laws on licensing, who can bet, which markets are allowed, deposits, taxes, enforcement and self-exclusion.
What the Sports Gaming Act Allows
Yes, the Tennessee Sports Gaming Act allows legal sports betting through licensed online operators. It is codified at Tenn. Code Ann. 4-49-101 and the sections that follow, and it sets up licensing for online sports betting and gives the regulator its powers.
The Act built the Tennessee sports betting market around online wagering only. The SWC states that online sports wagering with licensed operators is legal, and that physical sportsbooks and kiosks are not. Under this online only model, every legal wager in the state is placed on a website or an app run by a licensed operator.
Betting with a person, a bookie, is not legal either. The SWC notes 1 narrow exception. It covers small pools run by an individual rather than a business, such as a March Madness bracket with a total pool under $1,000 and an entry fee of $25 or less.
The table below shows the main dates in the history of legalized sports betting in Tennessee.
| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| July 1, 2019 | The Tennessee Sports Gaming Act takes effect. | Tenn. Code Ann. 4-49-101 |
| November 2020 | The first online sportsbooks open. | Tennessee Education Lottery |
| January 1, 2022 | The SWC takes over regulation from the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation. | SWC, About page (Public Chapter 593) |
| July 1, 2023 | The handle tax replaces the revenue tax. | Tenn. Code Ann. 4-49-104, SWC FAQ |
| September 30, 2026 | The SWC orders 2 offshore sportsbooks to stop operating in Tennessee. | SWC press release, October 7, 2026 |
Source: Tenn. Code Ann. 4-49-101 and following, and the Sports Wagering Council website (tn.gov/swac), SWC FAQ and About page read on October 22, 2026.
Tennessee Sports Betting Laws at a Glance
The table sets out the 8 rules that matter most, and how we source and update this page explains where each one comes from.
| Rule | What it means for you | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Online only | Bets are placed on a website or app, not at a counter or kiosk. | SWC FAQ |
| Age 21 | The sportsbook must confirm you are 21 or older before you bet. | SWC Rule 1350-01-.03(7), SWC FAQ |
| Physically in Tennessee | You must be in the state for every bet, and geolocation checks it. | SWC Rule 1350-01-.03(7), SWC FAQ |
| No credit and what funds an account | A sportsbook cannot extend credit, and accounts are funded by debit cards, bank transfers or payment systems. | Tenn. Code Ann. 4-49-118 and 4-49-125(f) |
| College player props and in-game props banned | Bets on a college athlete’s stats, and in-game props on a college game, are not offered. | Tenn. Code Ann. 4-49-114(a)(1), SWC Rule 1350-01-.09(2) |
| Injuries, penalties and chance wagers not offered | Bets on injuries, penalties and coin toss style events are not allowed. | Tenn. Code Ann. 4-49-114(a)(1)(A), Tennessee Constitution Article XI, Section 5 |
| People barred from betting | Officials, insiders and some athletes cannot bet. | Tenn. Code Ann. 4-49-112 |
| 1.85 percent tax on handle paid by the sportsbook | The sportsbook pays this tax, not you. | Tenn. Code Ann. 4-49-104(a) |
The Sports Wagering Council and Legal TN Sportsbooks
The SWC is the state agency that licenses and regulates every sportsbook taking bets in Tennessee. It was formerly the Sports Wagering Advisory Council (SWAC), and it replaced the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation as the regulator on January 1, 2022. The SWC also regulates fantasy sports, and it publishes the Tennessee sports betting laws and regulations, including the Act and its rules, at tn.gov/swac.
A license means the SWC has approved an operator to run online sports betting in the state. Only those licensed operators are legal TN sportsbooks, and the SWC states that it is illegal to place a bet with an online sportsbook the state has not licensed. Being able to open a website from Tennessee, or seeing an advert for it, does not mean it is licensed. The SWC also approves vendors, which are the companies that supply services to licensed operators.
The SWC publishes the list of licensed operators and approved vendors on its Licensees and Registrants page. On October 22, 2026, it named 9 licensed sports wagering operators, the earliest licensed on November 1, 2020. To read it, find the sportsbook’s name on the list before you deposit any money; a name that is missing has no Tennessee license. For current offers from online sportsbooks on that list, see the Tennessee sportsbook promos page.
Licensed Tennessee sports betting apps must confirm that you are 21 and in the state before they take a bet, and each sportsbook answers to the SWC if something goes wrong. The SWC FAQ sets the complaint route. You first file a grievance with the sportsbook within 30 days, and if you are not satisfied, you can take it to the SWC within 30 days of the sportsbook’s answer. Our guide to licensed Tennessee sportsbooks compares the operators on the SWC list.
Source: Sports Wagering Council website (tn.gov/swac), SWC FAQ and SWC press release of October 7, 2026, read on October 22, 2026.
Who Can Bet in Tennessee
You can place bets in Tennessee if you are 21 or older and physically located in the state at the time of the wager. The SWC FAQ states that bettors do not have to reside in Tennessee; they only have to be here when the wager is placed. SWC rules also allow only 1 account per player with each licensed sportsbook.
Tenn. Code Ann. 4-49-112 bars some people from betting. They include SWC members and staff, the owners, officers and supervisory staff of licensees and vendors, and contractors directly involved in sports wagering. Athletes, coaches, referees, team owners and staff cannot bet on events overseen by their own governing body, and anyone who can directly affect the outcome of a sporting event is barred. Students and staff of colleges who hold inside information about a college team or athlete may not use it to bet on college events.
A barred person also cannot have someone else bet for them. The SWC calls this proxy betting and says it is illegal, even when the account holder gives permission, for example a parent letting a child under 21 use their account.
Our page on how we rate sportsbooks explains how we compare the licensed sportsbooks that apply these rules.
Source: Tenn. Code Ann. 4-49-112 and the SWC list of persons ineligible to place a wager (updated August 21, 2025); SWC FAQ; SWC Rule 1350-01-.08(8). Read on October 22, 2026.
Betting Markets the Law Allows and Bans
Tennessee sports bettors can wager on pro sports and college sports. The law bans bets on college players, in-game proposition bets on college games, wagers on injuries and penalties, chance wagers and bets on high school sporting events. The rules come from the Act, the SWC’s rules and a memo from the SWC executive director. The SWC publishes the list of approved events you can bet on in Tennessee, and each sportsbook chooses which of them it offers.
Pro Sports, Futures and Parlays
Bets on pro sports are allowed, so you can bet on the Titans, Grizzlies, Nashville Predators, Nashville SC and the other pro teams, along with the other major sports. The usual markets include moneylines, spreads, totals, futures, parlays, same game parlays and live bets. SWC rules define a moneyline as a wager on the outright result at fixed odds, and each licensee sets its own odds. Sportsbooks decide which of these markets they list for each game, so the range of same game parlays and other bets differs from one sportsbook to the next.
A parlay joins 2 or more bets into one wager, and our guide to how parlays work explains the idea. Football fans who follow Nashville’s NFL team can read the Titans betting guide for more on betting that team.
Bets placed while a game is in progress are known as live bets. Our guide to live betting explains them in more detail. The age, location and deposit rules apply to live bets on the major sports in the same way as to bets placed before the game starts.
College Sports Wagers
Bets on the result of a college game are allowed, but bets on college players are not, and team props are allowed only before the game starts. Tenn. Code Ann. 4-49-114(a)(1)(B) and the rules of the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council set this out in 3 parts.
First, any wager on an individual’s actions, statistics or other occurrences determined during a college game is prohibited. A player’s stats are always settled during the game, so college player props are banned whether you place them before kickoff or during play. Rule 1350-01-.03(9)(b) uses the same words.
Second, pre-game proposition bets on the performance of a college team are allowed. Third, in-game proposition bets on a college team are prohibited.
The SWC memo of September 12, 2023, from the executive director, applies the in-game ban and lists examples of prohibited bets. They are first-half draw no bet, first-quarter spread, second-quarter total touchdowns by a team, third-quarter total points, fourth-quarter moneyline, highest-scoring quarter and race to 10 points. The memo relies on Tenn. Code Ann. 4-49-114(a)(1).
For Tennessee bettors who follow college teams such as Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Memphis, that leaves 4 cases. A moneyline, spread or total on the whole game is allowed. A team prop placed before the game is allowed. A team prop placed during the game is banned. Any prop bet on individual college athletes is banned.
Source: SWC Rules 1350-01-.09(2) and 1350-01-.03(9)(b) (revised June 2025), read on October 22, 2026; SWC memo, September 12, 2023; Tenn. Code Ann. 4-49-114(a)(1).
Injuries, Penalties and Chance Wagers
Wagers on injuries, penalties and events decided mainly by chance are not permitted in Tennessee. Tenn. Code Ann. 4-49-114(a)(1)(A) and SWC Rule 1350-01-.03(9)(a) cover wagers on injuries and penalties. Article XI, Section 5 of the Tennessee Constitution covers wagers that are predominantly chance, such as a coin toss or the color of the Gatorade poured on a coach.
Source: Tenn. Code Ann. 4-49-114(a)(1)(A), SWC Rule 1350-01-.03(9)(a) and the Tennessee Constitution, Article XI, Section 5.
High School and Youth Events
Bets on high school sporting events and youth league events are not allowed in Tennessee. SWC Rule 1350-01-.03(9)(c) bars wagers on amateur sports events, including all high school and youth league events. The only exception is an event the SWC approves in which people under 18 are a minority of the participants. The SWC FAQ gives the same answer about high school sports.
Source: SWC Rule 1350-01-.03(9)(c) (revised June 2025) and the SWC FAQ, read on October 22, 2026.
Credit Cards and Deposit Rules
You cannot use credit for sports betting in Tennessee, because the Act bars a licensee from offering, accepting or extending credit to a bettor. That bar is in Tenn. Code Ann. 4-49-118(a). A violation is a misdemeanor, class B for a first offense and class A for a second or later offense, under 4-49-118(b).
Once an account exists, the Act lets you fund it through a short list of routes. Tenn. Code Ann. 4-49-125(f) names electronic bank transfers, debit cards, online or mobile payment systems that support money transfers, and another council-approved method initiated with cash. SWC Rule 1350-01-.08(9) lists debit cards, electronic bank transfers, online and mobile payment systems, winnings or payouts, and other approved methods initiated with cash. Credit cards are not on either list.
The same rule requires each licensee to separate out and block any funding that starts on a credit card, including money held in a shared wallet used in other states. The SWC memo of April 12, 2022 had already said operators may not use any arrangement that lets a bettor fund an account with a credit card or other credit. Together they make the credit card ban cover every funding route.
Source: Tenn. Code Ann. 4-49-118 and 4-49-125(f), SWC Rule 1350-01-.08(9) (revised June 2025) and the SWC memo of April 12, 2022.
Taxes on Tennessee Sportsbooks and Winnings
Tennessee taxes sportsbooks on handle, and federal law taxes a bettor’s winnings from sports betting.
The 1.85 Percent Tax on Tennessee Sports Betting Handle
Tennessee taxes a sportsbook at 1.85 percent of the total amount wagered, and the sportsbook pays it, not the bettor. Tenn. Code Ann. 4-49-104(a) sets the rate. The SWC describes gross handle, in basic terms, as total wagers minus voided or cancelled wagers and the federal excise tax. So the handle, not profit, is the tax base, and the SWC’s monthly reports show the Tennessee sports betting handle on that basis.
The handle tax replaced a 20 percent privilege tax on adjusted gross income, which is broadly a sportsbook’s revenue after paying winning wagers. The SWC FAQ says the change took effect on July 1, 2023, under Public Chapter 450.
Federal Tax Forms and Withholding
Federal law treats money won on a sports bet as taxable income, and that holds even when no tax form is issued. The IRS form for gambling wins is the W-2G. For 2026, a sportsbook files one when your winnings reach $2,000 and are at least 300 times your stake.
Withholding is a separate test. The sportsbook keeps back 24 percent for the IRS when your winnings, net of the stake, top $5,000 and also meet the 300 times test.
Take a $20 parlay that pays back $8,020. The $8,000 won is 400 times the stake, so a W-2G is issued, and because it tops $5,000 the sportsbook withholds 24 percent, or $1,920. Now take a $50 bet at -125 that pays back $90. The $40 won brings no form, but it still counts as income.
Losses work differently from winnings. IRS Topic 419 allows the deduction only if you itemize on Schedule A and keep records of what you won and lost. The deduction can never exceed the gambling income you report.
Starting with the 2026 tax year, Public Law 119-21, section 70114, also caps the deduction at 90 percent of losses, a change Topic 419 did not yet reflect. With $5,000 in winnings and $8,000 in losses, 90 percent of the losses is $7,200, but the deduction stops at the $5,000 won.
Tennessee Tax on Winnings
Tennessee repealed the Hall income tax, its last tax on personal income, for tax periods beginning on January 1, 2021, and the Department of Revenue lists no state tax on gambling winnings. Federal tax still applies to your winnings. To see how a win could affect your federal tax, try our gambling tax calculator.
Source: IRS Instructions for Forms W-2G and 5754 and IRS Topic 419 (page updated September 24, 2026), and Public Law 119-21, section 70114 (govinfo.gov), read on October 22, 2026.
Enforcement Against Illegal Sportsbooks
The SWC enforces the license requirement through cease and desist demands and fines. On September 30, 2026, it issued cease and desist demands to 2 offshore sportsbooks, ordering them to stop operating in Tennessee by October 30, 2026. The SWC announced the action in a release dated October 7, 2026, and encouraged bettors to withdraw their funds immediately.
The release explains the fines the Act allows. The SWC can fine an operator $10,000 for a first offense of accepting wagers without a license, $15,000 for a second and $25,000 for a third. Later offenses can bring a $25,000 fine for each wager accepted in Tennessee. Businesses in Tennessee that work with illegal sportsbooks could also face criminal penalties.
A sportsbook is illegal in Tennessee when it takes online sports betting wagers here without an SWC license. The SWC says illegal sports betting sites can often be identified because they extend credit, accept cryptocurrency, or offer casino games such as slots or online poker, or chance-based wagers such as a coin toss.
To report a problem, use the SWC Player Complaint form. The SWC newsroom posts each enforcement action and other Tennessee sports betting news from the regulator.
Source: SWC press release dated October 7, 2026, read on October 22, 2026.
Fantasy Sports and the Lottery
The Tennessee Education Lottery and daily fantasy sports are separate from legal sports betting, and each is covered by its own law. The Tennessee Education Lottery is a legal form of gambling in the state. Daily fantasy sports are covered by the Tennessee Fantasy Sports Act, which begins at Tenn. Code Ann. 4-49-201, and the SWC has regulated fantasy sports since July 1, 2023, when it took over from the Tennessee Secretary of State.
Self-Exclusion and Responsible Gambling Help
The SWC runs a statewide self-exclusion program for sports wagering. You apply through the Tennessee Voluntary Sports Wagering Self-Exclusion Application on the SWC website, and it covers all Tennessee sportsbooks. Under SWC rules, you choose how long the exclusion lasts, and during that time you cannot open an account with any licensee, or your existing accounts are suspended.
The SWC FAQ adds that you can also self-exclude directly with each licensed sportsbook through its app. Licensees must also offer an account cool-off, which pauses your account for a period you pick, as an alternative to self-exclusion. SWC rules also require each licensee to let you set your own limits on wagers, losses and deposits, plus time limits on each session or day.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the Tennessee REDLINE at 1-800-889-9789. You can also call 1-800-MY-RESET. The SWC also points to free and confidential telehealth therapy from The Gambling Clinic at the University of Memphis, and families and friends who are worried about a bettor can call the national hotline 1-800-GAMBLER.
If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
For limits and other tools, see our responsible gambling tools page.
Source: SWC Self-Exclusion Application page, FAQ and Gambling Addiction Services page; SWC Rule 1350-01-.02 definitions of the Statewide Self-Exclusion List, Account Cool-Off and Responsible Gaming Limit. Read on October 22, 2026.
Tennessee Sports Betting Law Questions
Is sports betting legal in Tennessee?
Yes. Sports betting is legal in Tennessee online only, through sportsbooks licensed by the SWC under the Tennessee Sports Gaming Act, and there are no retail sportsbooks.
Is sports betting legal in Nashville?
Yes. Tennessee law is statewide, so the same rules apply in Nashville, and you must be in Tennessee when the bet is placed.
Is gambling legal in Tennessee?
Sports betting through licensed online sportsbooks, the Tennessee Education Lottery and fantasy sports contests regulated by the SWC are legal in Tennessee.
How old do you have to be to bet on sports in Tennessee?
You must be 21 or older. The SWC states that bettors must be at least 21 years old.
Can you sports bet in Tennessee if you live in another state?
Yes. The SWC states that bettors do not have to reside in Tennessee to place a wager here. You must be physically in Tennessee when the wager is placed.
Can you bet on college sports in Tennessee?
Yes, on the result of a game and on team props placed before it starts. SWC rules ban every prop on a college player and every in-game prop on a college game.
Can you use a credit card at Tennessee sportsbooks?
No. Tenn. Code Ann. 4-49-118 bars a licensed sportsbook from extending credit, and SWC rules require sportsbooks to block funding that comes from a credit card.
Are there retail sportsbooks in Tennessee?
No. Sports betting in Tennessee is online only through licensed online sportsbooks, and the SWC says physical sportsbooks and kiosks are not legal.
Are offshore sportsbooks legal in Tennessee?
No. Only sportsbooks licensed by the SWC may offer online sports betting in Tennessee, and the SWC fines illegal operators and orders them to stop.
How do you file a complaint against a Tennessee sportsbook?
First file a grievance with the sportsbook within 30 days, then, if it is not resolved, use the SWC Player Complaint form on the SWC website within 30 days of the sportsbook’s answer.