
Tennessee lottery appoints sports betting director
The state’s sports betting advisory council has opened a public consultation on its draft rules and will soon start accepting vendor applications


Tennessee has appointed Jennifer Roberts, the former associate director for UNLV’s International Center for Gaming Regulation, to oversee sports betting for the state lottery.
Roberts will relocate to the state and take on the role in December.
On her LinkedIn, Roberts wrote: “Today I formally accepted an offer to oversee sports betting regulation for the Tennessee Education Lottery.
“Hope y’all will come visit me in Nashville, Las Vegas will always be special to me,” she said.
Roberts has been a practising lawyer in Nevada since 2003 and was previously a shareholder in the gaming and regulatory department of local law firm Lionel Sawyer & Collins.
She has also spent time as a professor of gaming law at the William S Boyd School of Law, where she taught on gaming law policy, fundamentals of casino operations and management and resort hotel casino law.
Tennessee is expected to legalize sports betting next year via legislation that will not restrict the number of operators in the state.
Mobile betting will also be legalized.
The state’s sports betting advisory council’s first meeting this week reported draft rules would be considered by the public and council for the next 30 days.
Beyond that the council will start accepting license applications.