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In transferring oversight of Tennessee’s new sports betting market to the state’s Sports Wagering Advisory Council, our state legislature and the TELC put Tennesseans first, writes JV Miller, Guest Columnist for The Tennesseean. Miller is also a professional gambler residing in both Las Vegas and Nashville.
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He writes further:
In January 2020, I predicted the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation, TELC, which oversees sports betting in Tennessee, was a bad fit to manage sports betting in our state because sports betting and a lottery are different animals.
The last straw for our state legislature came in the form of a botched oversight action by the TELC. The head of the sports betting arm of the TELC unilaterally suspended and shuttered a reputable licensee without notice or due process, based on the preliminary findings of a lone, alarmist state inspector who later fessed up that his findings were based on more assumptions than facts.
The company in question is one Action 24/7, a rare home grown company that was able to enter the competitve new industry. It should probably come as no surprise that a firm with little experience in the sports gambling market would encounter a few hiccups in the onset.
Action 24/7 is a Nashville-based company led by Tina Hodges, who also owns an online lending company that operates in 15 states, Advance Financial. With over 50 investors, the company's marketing focus included plans to attend tailgate parties for the upcoming college football and NFL season.
The financial solutions business appeared to have been incorporated into Action 24/7's sportsbook operation in an effort to get a leg up on the competition, and this apparently raised some eyebrows. But Action 24/7 was also quick to self-report discovered improprieties. Its license was yanked nonetheless.
The staggering overreach was quickly blocked by the Chancery Court, which ruled the TELC acted arbitrarily and capriciously and violated the licensee’s constitutional rights. The licensee was eventually reinstated, but at what cost?
Miller notes that the action was taken on the second busiest sports betting day of the year.
He concludes:
The good news is sports betting is a hit in Tennessee and a vibrant new revenue stream. The treasure lies in the tax revenue from recreational sports bettors -- not in bullying and shaking down licensees and vendors.
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
