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Tennessee Sets Record With a $1B Lifetime Sports Handle in 6 Months
By Jeff Osienya Jun 01, 2021 IndustrySportsbooks in Tennessee have put the state on the map for the umpteenth time after collecting over $1 billion in sports wagers since November 2020. Read on to discover more about Tennessee’s record-smashing sports betting journey.Sports bettors in Tennessee have once again shined the spotlight on themselves after spending over a billion dollars on sports wagers between November 2020 and the end of April 2021. After seeing a total handle of $1.1 billion in its first 6 months of online sports betting, the Volunteer State has once again etched its name in the record books. That stellar performance made Tennessee the fastest state in USA’s legal sports betting history to collect ten figures worth of sports wagers.
Despite experiencing a revenue decline between March and April, The Volunteer State still managed to blow past previous records. April’s $172.4 million handle (down 13.6% from March’s $206 million) was just enough to slingshot the state’s lifetime handle past ten figures.
New Jersey, the current top dog of USA’s sports betting world, was previously at the helm after blowing past the $1 billion mark in its seventh month of launching regulated sports betting. From Tennessee’s incredible handle over the first six months of operation, sportsbooks in the state have won a revenue of $92.0 million. State coffers, on the other hand, have received $18.3 million worth of tax payment for the six-month period.
A Consistent History of Best Ever Performances
Since Tennessee launched its regulated sports betting market on November 1st, 2020, the state has been crushing industry records one after another. Right from its first week of action, The Volunteer State posted a shining performance after collecting a total handle of $27.4 million.
By the time the first month was over, sports bettors in Tennessee had spent over $131 million, which at that time was the best first month for any regulated sports betting jurisdiction in the US. Come January 2021, The Volunteer State smashed another record, becoming the fastest US state to cross the $200 million mark after entry into regulated sports betting. For that month, Tennessee collected $211 million worth of sports bets and became the 7th US state to bring in a monthly handle of more than $200 million.
In January 2021 again, The Volunteer State had set yet another record, as its lifetime sports betting handle had hit $523 million. At that time, it also went on the books as the quickest US state to collect over half a billion dollars in lifetime sports wagers. No other state had managed to see such a win in just three months!
Stiff Competition From Emerging MarketsWhen Michigan premiered its regulated online sports betting market in January 2021, it easily bested Tennessee’s previously set records if we strictly look at online sports betting. Michigan saw a handle worth $115 million from online sports betting for the first ten days of activity.
After its first full month of online and mobile activity in February, the Wolverine state leaped further ahead with a tremendous record handle worth $308.8 million. In the same month, Tennessee was then edged out of the second position for the best first-month rankings of US sports betting after Virginia saw a $256 million handle in February 2021.
However, if we change the perspective to look at both retail and online sports betting handles combined, Virginia will become the best first-month performer. That’s because Michigan launched retail sports betting early in March 2020, right at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This launch was thus followed by forced closures of in-person sports betting and land-based casino facilities almost immediately. As a result, Michigan’s retail sports betting debut was practically dead on arrival.
With that in mind, only eight USA states have managed to bring in a handle of over $100 million within the first 6 months of launch, according to analysts at PlayTenn.com. The number then reduces by two if we look at states that managed to collect a handle of over $200 million for the first six months of operation. They are; Illinois ($201.9 million), Iowa ($270.3 million), Colorado ($669.96 million), Indiana ($794.2 million), New Jersey ($928.1 million), and now Tennessee with $1.1 billion.
From the look of things, Virginia will be joining the trailblazer states above pretty soon as it heads to its sixth month of operation. That said, Virginia’s first six months handle could even be massive enough to best Tennessee’s.
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