Taking a look at US states and their laws and regulations will quickly show that Tennessee is one of the states with little mercy for gambling. The state has some of the toughest gambling laws and regulations in the US.

You will find that there are no commercial casinos, tribal casinos or racinos in this state. Even social gaming is considered taboo in this state. The authorities have been known to bust home poker games.

Bingo is one of the forms of gambling that is legal in nearly every US state apart from Tennessee. Interestingly enough Bingo used to flourish in the state back in the 1980s. There were 300 bingo operations running in Tennessee in 1986. This quickly changed when a lawmaker approached the FBI saying he was offered a $10,000 bribe to push for horse racing in the state. After this Operation Rocky Top (an FBI sting) was launched to target the bingo industry. During this step the state rep. Randy McNally infiltrated the illegal bingo business.

Bingo was always meant to be played for charitable purposes but had turned into commercial operations. The case was made public in January 1989 and all indictments were unsealed with more than 50 people convicted. And in March 1989 the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that bingo should have been illegal all along. According to the court bingo, even played for charities, violated the constitutional ban on lotteries.

Virtually all forms of gambling are banned in the state. The only game of chance legal in the state is the lottery that is operated by the state. The Tennessee lottery was approved by a constitutional amendment in November 2002. It can only offer instant scratch-offs and lotto games.

Furthermore, charitable gambling is allowed in the state when charities have their annual functions. These annual events may not raise more than $5,000 and prizes can be held through raffles or similar procedures.

Recently there has been a push to add casinos and games of chance to the list of legal options available in the state. A new bill known as House Joint Resolution 109 was introduced by five democratic state representatives. If the bill is approved Tennessee could be building land-based casinos in the future.

Tennessee was the third state to legalize and regulate Daily Fantasy Sports which was a major surprise as the attorney general of the state considered it illegal. DFS was legalised in 2016. In 2019 sports betting was legalised without the signature of Governor Bill Lee.  

As one of the states with the least amount of legal gambling activities available you wouldn’t expect proper systems in place for licensing. But as mentioned earlier this state is among the few dedicated to strict regulating procedures.

The state lottery is run by the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation which was created by the General Assembly in 2003. The TELC gets authority for tasks from the Tennessee Education Lottery Implementation Law. The board is responsible for the operation of the lottery and making sure everything is done in benefit of the Tennessee residents. The Tennessee Lottery is only allowed to offer lottery drawings and scratch-off games. It became a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association later on allowing for residents to take part in interstate lotteries such as the Powerball and Mega Millions. To ensure fairness in the lotto the state switched from ball drawings to the use of random number generators in 2007. There are over a dozen lottery games to participate in but by law, you have to be 18 or older to enjoy these. Funds from the lottery are generated for specific education programs in the state.

All charitable gaming activities are licensed and regulated by the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Division of Charitable Solicitation and Gaming. By law, anyone who plans to host a gaming event for charity purposes within the state has to register. Only several traditional charitable organizations are exempt from registration requirements. Funds are only allowed to be raised via annual raffles or cakewalks. In essence, the charitable gaming options are limited and revenue derived from them are very little.

With House Bill No. 1 currently in the works sports betting laws are being put in place. With this, the bill ensures a new regulatory body. While Governor Bill Lee did not sign off on the bill he did state that no extra commissions should be created. As such the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation Sports Wagering Advisory Council will be created. This council will consist of nine members of which three are appointed by the governor, three by the House speaker and three by the senate speaker. Their job is to ensure all regulations are enforced and followed. The council will also be in charge of licensing and submitting annual reports to the governor on the sports betting industry.