Nashville start-up gains Tennessee betting license

Nashville-based Tennessee Action 24/7 has been granted the state’s fourth betting license as the Tennessee Education Lottery prepares to launch state-wide mobile betting on November 1.

The local betting operator is powered by a team of 10 employees and hopes to expand to 50 by the end of next year.

President for the operator Tina Hodges previously built up local fintech company Advance Financial into a multi-state business employing more than 1,000 staffers.

Hodges expects to appeal to bettors through Action24/7’s local branding and ethos. The company was founded earlier this year.

“We’re not a mega-corporation from some far-off land, we’re for Tennesseans, by Tennesseans,” the company website states.

The state lottery’s Sports Wagering Committee has also approved license applications from FanDuel, Roar Digital’s BetMGM and DraftKings.

Additional licenses are expected to be awarded at the committee’s next meeting on October 16.

Tennessee is the only state to have opted for an unlimited number of license awards, with online operators required to pay $750,000 to gain entry to the state.

However, the state also requires operators to pay a minimum hold of 10% to the regulator, while tax rates are particularly high at 20%.

The mandatory hold requirement will likely deter operators from entering the market and result in lower spend per customer.