Tennessee sports betting celebrated its eighth full month of operation at the end of June. According to June’s revenue report, wagers are on the rise in the Volunteer State.
One Tennessee operator, BetMGM, reclaimed its title as the state’s most popular sportsbook this month.
BetMGM takes the sports betting crown from FanDuel
BetMGM and FanDuel Tennessee have been in a long-standing duel for the title of top sportsbook in Tennessee. FanDuel beat out BetMGM in May by an exceptionally narrow margin.
In June, however, BetMGM took the lead with a landslide difference in wagers between the two operators.
Out of the $174.5 million in total wagers placed at Tennessee online sportsbooks in June, 38% of those were placed on the BetMGM app.
Bettors wagered close to $67.5 million at BetMGM, while just over $58 million was wagered at Fanduel. That $58 million accounted for 33.5% of June’s total bets.
DraftKings Tennessee fell into third place yet again with bettors putting $40.7 million on the line.
William Hill saw roughly $3.5 million worth of wagering activity during the month, down from May’s $4.7 million.
Bettors wagered less than $1.9 million at Action 24/7 and almost $1 million at WynnBET, remaining relatively on par with May’s numbers.
TwinSpires, on the other hand, doubled its gross wagers from May, bringing in almost $1.6 million in June.
June sporting events bring rise in wagers
After back-to-back months of declining wagers, June marks Tennessee’s first month-over-month handle increase since March. March saw a high of $205.9 million wagered, while total handle fell to $172.4 million in April and even lower to $160.9 million in May.
Wagers catapulted back up to $174 million during June’s 30-day calendar. On average, bettors wagered roughly $5.8 million per day as opposed to May, where bettors wagered $5.2 million daily.
The state’s seven operating sportsbooks took home an adjusted gross revenue of $16.1 million in June, which is the highest take home since March.
The NBA Playoffs likely played a big role in helping handle rebound in the state. At yesterday’s Sports Wagering Advisory Council meeting, Tennessee Education Lottery CEO Rebecca Hargrove announced new stats on basketball wagering in the state.
Betting on basketball has made up 38% of total wagering activity in the state since sports betting’s inception.
The Grizzlies having a spot in the NBA Playoffs didn’t hurt either. However, not all of the increased bets were winning wagers.
Bettors struggle to lock in winning bets
Tennessee bettors might have wagered more this month than they have since March, but those weren’t all necessarily winning bets. Players lost a larger percentage of wagers in June than they have since January.
A shift in sport seasons could be the prime reason for bettors’ struggles.
June is in the thick of the sports betting offseason.
NASCAR, tennis, baseball and golf serve as some of the primary sports available for wagering during this time of year.
Wagers on these sports are mostly futures bets, which are much more volatile than spread or moneyline wagers that are usually seen with major team sports.
Operators still fall short of 10% hold requirement
Months like this help sportsbooks meet Tennessee’s mandatory 10% hold requirement. Hold is defined as the portion of wagers kept by sportsbooks after winnings are paid out.
While players might have had a losing month, operators came out ahead. Sportsbooks walked away with a 9.19% hold on wagers for the month.
The only other times operators have gotten close to this 10% requirement was in January, after a whirlwind NFL season catapulted sportsbooks to a 9.95% hold, and in November, as operators ended their first month with a 10.05% hold.
Now that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are underway, Tennessee could see yet another uptick in wagers in July.
The only question is whether operators can make July the first month of 2021 where they actually reach Tennessee’s hold requirement.
