The Tennessee Education Lottery said Wednesday that two of the state’s four regulated online sportsbooks saw “illegal” betting activity on the most recently completed Super Bowl.
At a meeting of its board of directors, the lottery said that there were “significant anomalies” with two operators. It didn’t say which books.
As a result of the activity, 74 sports wagering accounts between the two platforms were permanently closed. “Several” open Super Bowl bets were voided. The lottery said that it wouldn’t provide any more information at this time as the investigation continues.
The lottery said that it ended up declining operator requests to offer non-football props on the big game, such as the color of the Gatorade, which some other sports betting states in the U.S. allowed. The lottery didn’t provide any information on what kind of bets were suspicious.
The four books handled a combined $15.5 million on the big game, and they paid out $12.6 million in winning bets, keeping the rest as revenue.
Through Jan. 31, the books handled $523 million in wagers since the Nov. 1 launch, the lottery said.
The lottery also stated Wednesday that Churchill Downs, Wynn Sports, and William Hill are still in the process of moving towards launching in the state. No dates were provided. Additionally, two other upcoming operators have paperwork moving.
January handle
The four books, which all launched at roughly the same time in early November, handled $131.4 million that month, and they followed it up with $180.9 million in December.
That means that January handle was more than $210 million.
That was more than Iowa ($149.5 million) but less than Indiana ($348.2 million), but both those states have significantly more apps, as well as retail wagering.
New Jersey again led the nation last month with $958.7 million in handle.
