Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

THE CENTER SQUARE

Tennessee collected $3.7 million in taxes on sports gambling in July, according to numbers released last week from the state’s Sports Wagering Advisory Committee.

The funds came from nearly $183 million of wagering with sports gambling sites from the state’s 12 online sports book making $18.3 million in adjusted gross income during the month.

The sports wagering committee approved a new license for Seminole Hard Rock Casino at last month’s meeting. Hard Rock also recently opened a temporary casino in Bristol, Virginia in July, according to PlayTenn.

The taxes collected in the report released on Aug. 11 were up from the $2.6 million collected in June but below the $4.8 million in May and $4.6 million in taxes on sportsbook income in both March and April.

Tennessee collects 20% of the industry’s net operator revenue in taxes. Of the sports gambling taxes, 80% of the taxes collected from sports gambling goes to education, 15% goes to the state for distribution to local governments and 5% goes toward mental health programs.

Wagering was up from the $144.5 million in sports wagers in July 2021 that led to $13.4 million in adjusted gross income for operators and $2.6 million in taxes collected.

Sports wagering has grown in the state since it began in November 2020 with $131 million in wagers and $2.3 million in taxes collected.