Sports betting revenues in Tennessee have never been so low as reported in July 2021, since the industry’s first month of operation in November 2020. Local punters were on the lookout for sports and events to bet on in a relatively quiet month on the sports calendar. But analysts aren’t worried, saying that the dip to under $145 million will probably be the lowest that the state will experience, and the numbers will only go up.
One analyst said that even with the NBA Finals and the Olympics in July 2021, there wasn’t much else to engage casual bettors compared to other months of the year. However, he was optimistic that sportsbooks would quickly erase any declines in their revenues as those same casual bettors return home from their summer holidays and start turning their attention to football.
According to the Tennessee Education Lottery and Sports Wagering Advisory Council, sportsbooks took in $144.6 million in wagers, which was 17.2% down from June 2021.
These declines are in line with the trends seen in other legal and regulated sports betting markets in the US. Every single market without fail has reported a significant drop in wagering activity in July 2021.
Nevertheless, sportsbooks reported on an increased win percentage in July which helped offset some of the revenue losses.