More Wagers, Less Taxes Collected In August For Tennessee Sports Wagers
Image Credit: PlayTenn.com & Thomas R Machnitzki / CC
The Center Square [By Jon Styf] –
Tennessee saw more wagers and less taxes paid on those wagers in the second month of its new system for taxing the state’s sportsbooks.
The Tennessee Sports Wagering Council reported the August numbers without revealing how much revenue the state’s sportsbooks made in August.
Instead, it simply reported four numbers, starting with $243.5 million in gross wagers and $4.5 million in taxes paid. That’s up from $205.9 million in wagers in August 2022, when sportsbooks made $24.4 million in adjusted gross income and were taxed for $4.9 million.
This August, the state reported $1.6 million in adjustments and then the sportsbooks were taxed on $241.8 million of total handle.
Starting in July, the state assessed a 1.85% tax on total handle instead of the previous 20% tax on the sportsbooks’ adjusted gross income.
The new system of SWC reporting prevents the public from comparing the new taxing structure to what would have been collected under the previous format.
For the first six months of 2023, the state collected more in taxes under the old system than it would have collected under the new system.
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.
About the Author: Jon Styf, The Center Square Staff Reporter – Jon Styf is an award-winning editor and reporter who has worked in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan in local newsrooms over the past 20 years, working for Shaw Media, Hearst and several other companies. Follow Jon on Twitter @JonStyf.
