The Commercial Appeal

Could sports betting be legalized in state this year?

- Natalie Allison Nashville Tennessean USA TODAY NETWORK - TENNESSEE

NASHVILLE – A U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year paved the way for legal sports gambling, but it’s still up to states like Tennessee to decide how to move forward with legalizing the online platforms that facilitate it.

While Republican Gov. Bill Lee has said he morally opposes legalizing gambling, Democrats and Republican­s in the Volunteer State have filed legislatio­n this session that would legalize forms of sports betting.

The issue has generated input from a variety of stakeholde­rs, including the state itself, cities, online gambling platforms and profession­al sports teams.

So far this session, lawmakers have joined forces across party lines in an effort to create a legal means of sports gambling in Tennessee.

Bills have been filed by lawmakers from Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis, though officials in Memphis have been particular­ly interested in legalizing sports betting, which is legal and available at casinos in nearby Tunica, Mississipp­i.

‘Sports Wagering for Stronger Schools Act’ a bipartisan effort

Under HB 666 and SB 1055, legislatio­n filed by Sen. Steve Dickerson, Rnashville, and Rep. Rick Staples, Dknoxville, sports gambling would fund education in the state.

Cities with a population of 167,000 or larger could opt to hold a referendum allowing sports betting.

Dickerson said he believes that thousands of people across the state, if not more, “are actively engaged in some

PICKLES

form of online betting,” and is seeking to develop a framework to generate state and local tax revenue from the activity.

The state would collect a 10 percent state privilege tax from sports betting operators, revenue earmarked for pre-k through 12th-grade education. Municipali­ties also could enact a 2 percent privilege tax.

The bill creates a state sports wagering commission that would be housed in the Department of Tourism and oversee sports betting operators in Tennessee.

Among the commission’s duties would be to administer a gambling addiction treatment program, as well as a dispute resolution service for complaints against operators.

Civil penalties of $5,000 to $50,000 also could be imposed against operators for violating provisions of the sports betting law, according to the proposal.

“What I’m committed to is that it be a level and open playing field,” Dickerson said. “I will not propose any bill or bring a bill to vote that favors one vendor over another.”

Fiscal note predicts shift from lottery tickets to sports gaming

Months before he joined Dickerson in introducin­g legislatio­n, Staples filed the very first bill in the House for the session — before the election — and it also dealt with sports betting.

Sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Raumesh Akbari, D-memphis, the bill is similar to the one Dickerson backs.

Among the difference­s is what the 10 percent state privilege tax collected would fund — in this case, divided between the state general fund; Tennessee colleges of applied technologi­es and community colleges for capital projects; and local government­s to use for education and infrastruc­ture.

In a fiscal note created for the earlier bill, state officials predict that a number of Tennessean­s will merely shift their spending from lottery tickets to sports betting, though legalizing the new method of gambling is still expected to generate additional revenue.

Sports betting is expected to generate another $5.9 million for the state’s general fund each year, along with $4.5 million a year for the Tennessee Board of Regents.

Bill on the table to legalize March Madness pools

Those office pools for March Madness brackets?

Well, “technicall­y they may be illegal” in Tennessee, Dickerson said.

A bill filed by Rep. Bryan Terry, Rmurfreesb­oro, HB 1033, and Dickerson, SB 1057, would remove any gray area about the legality of the widely popular practice.

Called the “March Madness and Fantasy

WALLACE THE BRAVE

Football Freedom Act,” the legislatio­n permits pools with entry fees costing no more than $25 and that don’t exceed $1,000 for the total pool.

It must be managed by an individual and not by a business.

Other Republican­s want state to study sports betting

In a different approach to moving forward with legal sports betting, two other Republican lawmakers have filed legislatio­n ordering the state to further study the impact.

The legislatio­n, HB 1012 and SB 1463, would require the secretary of state and state comptrolle­r to conduct a study of the economic impacts of sports gambling if it were legalized in Tennessee, including examining other states where sports betting has been made legal.

Memphis Democrats among lawmakers filing horse racing bills

In addition to a pair of East Tennessee Republican­s, Democrats in Memphis — Akbari and Rep. Joe Towns — have filed legislatio­n to legalize and regulate betting on horse racing.

Both the legislatio­n introduced by Rep. Andrew Farmer, R-seviervill­e, and Sen. Frank Niceley, R-strawberry Fields, and by the Democrats would establish a state horse racing commission to oversee horse racing and the correspond­ing pari-mutuel betting system.

The horse racing commission would be housed in the Department of Commerce.

Both bills propose different taxation structures, including admission tax and taxes on the total amount of money wagered each race.

 ?? FILE ?? Democrats and Republican­s in Tennessee have filed legislatio­n this session that would legalize forms of sports betting.
FILE Democrats and Republican­s in Tennessee have filed legislatio­n this session that would legalize forms of sports betting.

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