As of this time, casinos are not legal in Tennessee in any fashion. This reluctance to allow for brick-and-mortar or retail casinos has even extended to the state’s sports betting legislation. The Sports Gaming Act doesn’t allow in-person sports betting since there won’t be any casinos for the sportsbooks to set up shop in anyway. In fact, Tennessee ranks as the 28th highest in the US for playing at offshore online casinos. Wagering an estimated $10 million per year, it ranks just above Kentucky and behind Louisiana. The state with the largest wagering for offshore online casino is California at $180 million.
- Casinos In Tennessee Gambling
- Casinos In Tennessee Gatlinburg
- Casinos In Tennessee With Hotels
- Casinos In Tennessee And Kentucky
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Tennessee, the home of country music and amazing barbecue, is extremely conservative when gambling is concerned. Without a doubt, it’s one of the most restrictive states in the US.
To further promote its conservatism, the Volunteer State doesn’t have any land-based casinos within its borders. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean its residents can’t have a legit gambling experience online. So, let’s see what is the current situation of online gambling in Tennessee.
Top 5 Tennessee Online Casinos
Is Online Gambling Legal in Tennessee?
Compared to other US states, Tennessee can be considered a bit contradictory. Let us explain — one of the conditions to legalize online gambling is to have land-based casinos partner up with online operators. Well, Tennessee has done the exact opposite.
The state doesn’t have any land-based casinos, however, it has legalized online sports betting. And, that is the only form of online gambling legal in the state. Online sports betting operators need to have agreements with national sports leagues.
First off, daily fantasy sports have been legalized in 2016, which has been an enormous step forward for the Volunteer State. In 2019, Tennessee has made online sports betting legal. By doing so, it became the first state in the US to have online sports betting as the only legal form of gambling.
We still can’t say with certainty when we will see the launch of online sportsbooks in TN, but, that will be the only possible way of placing bets — no land-based and retail sportsbooks will be introduced.
In 2017, there has been an attempt to make casinos legal, but it took the committee less than a month to turn that proposal down. Up until today, there have been no additional attempts to legalize casinos, land-based or online.
All operators willing to operate in Tennessee will have to pay $750,000 annually to renew their licenses. While it’s a big price to pay, we still believe operators see the potential of operating on the Tennessee market.
Future of Online Gambling in Tennessee
The timetable for legalizing online gambling in TN doesn’t exist. While we want to believe that the legalization of online sports betting has only been the start of something bigger, we might have to come to terms with the fact that it might not happen anytime soon.
Making any forms of casino gambling legal doesn’t seem to be a priority to the Tennessee government. Moreover, at one point, the governor Bill Lee said that he’s thankful to the state lawmakers for managing to avoid building any land-based casinos within the state borders.
With that in mind, Tennessee residents continue to travel across the borders to visit other land-based casinos in their vicinity. If the state of Tennessee were to legalize any forms of gambling in the future, we believe it would be online casinos, and no land-based casinos will be built in the near future.
Land-Based Casino Options in Tennessee
No, there are no land-based casinos in the state of Tennessee. While we expected a conservative southern state to ban commercial casinos, we were surprised to see that the Volunteer State doesn’t even have tribal casinos.
The reason behind this goes back a long time — in the 1830s all tribes east of Mississippi were forcibly moved to the frontier. And even today, there are no federally recognized tribes that would run tribal casinos.
Other Gambling Options in TN
Casinos In Tennessee Gambling
We have found very few gambling options available to the Tennessee residents. The state doesn’t have any race tracks or betting shops. The only form of betting that’s legal is the off-track betting on horse racing. Betting on greyhounds is forbidden in Tennessee.
Even charitable gambling isn’t completely legal — you can participate in the annual raffle and cakewalks, but these events are small compared to other states. Social Gambling is somewhat legal, but you need to be careful when choosing the type of social game because some of them can be illegal.
The only form of casino gambling that’s legal in Tennessee is a free-play social casino — there are prizes, but they aren’t money-related. You can play games in these social casinos for amusement.
Casinos In Tennessee Gatlinburg
The State Lottery is legal. It was established in 2003, and the first ticket was sold in 2004. Tennessee residents can now buy Mega Millions and Powerball tickets and participate in the State Lottery.
Casinos In Tennessee With Hotels
If you want to try out real money casino games, you can do so in offshore online casinos. However, you should be careful when you’re choosing which offshore casino to play in. These online gaming platforms don’t fall under the state’s jurisdiction, and therefore the state laws don’t apply to them.
On the one hand, that’s a good thing, but, if something goes wrong, you can’t rely on the Tennessee authorities for help. Because of that, you should always check out the offshore casino, and choose a reliable and trustworthy one.
FAQ
Unfortunately, online casinos aren’t legal in the state of Tennessee. The state has only legalized online sports betting, but there are no land-based casinos these online sportsbooks can partner up with.
There are no strict laws regarding offshore gambling sites. Therefore, we can’t say they are legal or illegal. They simply don’t fall under the jurisdiction of the Tennessee authorities. The residents can play in offshore casinos, however, they need to be careful when choosing which site they want to play on.
If you want to partake in any gambling activity in the state of Tennessee, you need to be older than 21. This is the most common legal age for gambling throughout the United States.
Interestingly enough, the state of Tennessee doesn’t have any land-based casinos. The only legal land-based gambling options in TN are betting on horse races in certain facilities, and some forms of charitable gambling.
Casinos In Tennessee And Kentucky
No, unfortunately, online poker isn’t legalized in Tennessee. However, if you want to play online poker, you can do so in offshore online casinos that accept players from the United States. Offshore gaming isn’t prohibited, and players from the US won’t be persecuted for taking part in offshore gambling activities.