The state of Tennessee is expected to launch sports betting later this week or over the weekend, and in anticipation of that launch the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation has updated its public-facing list of firms slated to serve as vendors for the industry.
Currently, four sports gaming operators have been conditionally licensed — BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings, and Tennessee Action 24/7 — along with a handful of suppliers — Gaming Laboratories International, Amelco, GeoComply, IGT, Online Venture Strategies, Sportradar, and Kambi.
The list of vendors is much longer. Under the Tennessee Sports Gaming Act and the TEL’s sports betting regulations, vendors are the lowest level of approval for the state’s industry, but they still meet the threshold of needing to be vetted by the state.
Below is a look at the long list of vendors set to be involved with the market. Affiliate companies and payment processors are common entities on the list. The vendor list will grow over time as more firms ancillary to the business of operating a sportsbook seek involvement.
- 365 Operating Company (dba 365 Data Center Services)
- Apps4 Web Media Ltd.
- Aristotle International Inc.
- Awesomo.com, LLC
- Betsperts, Inc.
- Better Collective Florida, LLC
- Better Collective Tennessee, LLC
- Better Collective USA, Inc.
- BetterThanYou Inc.
- CAMS, LLC
- Catena Operations Limited
- CBWG Media Group, LLC
- Chive Media Group, LLC
- Commercial Streaming Solutions Inc.
- Continent 8, LLC
- ConvergeOne, Inc.
- Cyan Blue Odds USA Limited (dba Oddschecker)
- Davide Pomè
- Don Best Sports Corporation
- East Tennessee Hockey LLC (dba Knoxville Ice Bears)
- ESPN Enterprises, Inc.
- Fantasy Advantage, LLC
- Finder Media B.V.
- Flexential Corp.
- Flick Inc. dba Flick Chat
- Fortuna Edge Media Limited
- Gambler Media
- GBG Endeavors LLC (dba MetaBet)
- Genius Tech International Pty Ltd.
- Givens Enterprises LLC
- Global Payments Gaming Services Inc.
- Horizon Media Limited
- Horseneck Media, LLC
- i15 Media, LLC
- IDology, Inc.
- iGamingCloud Inc.
- Interactive Communications International, Inc.
- JohnsonPossKirby Government Relations Inc.
- LexisNexis Risk Solutions
- Lineups.com, Inc.
- Mark Knight
- Marzen Media, LLC
- Mazooma Inc.
- McMahan, Winstead, & Richardson LLC
- Media Players US, LLC
- Media Techs, LLC
- Media Troopers Inc.
- Milek Media LLC
- Moonshot Sports, LLC
- Murphy Marketing
- Mush Media
- North Star Network
- OBeP Payments (dba PayWithMyBank)
- OLBG Inc.
- Onfido, Inc.
- Optimove Inc.
- Outkick Media, LLC
- Pat McAfee, Inc.
- PayNearMe MT, Inc.
- PayPal, Inc.
- Paysafe Merchant Services Corp.
- Paysafecard.com USA Inc.
- PopOdds Inc. dba abe
- PXP Financial Inc.
- Rarefied Atmosphere Inc. dba Atmosphere TV, Chive TV
- RotoQL Inc.
- Sightline Payments, LLC
- Skrill USA, Inc.
- Splash Technology Ltd. dba Swipe
- Sports Betting ST, LLC
- SportsCastr.live LLC
- SWIMA (Sports Wagering Integrity Monitoring Association)
- The Action Network
- Topgolf Media, LLC
- U.S. Integrity, LLC
- Wedge Traffic
- Worldpay Gaming Solutions, LLC
- XL Media US Limited
Differences in fees
There’s a huge difference in the costs between serving as a sports gaming operator, a supplier, and a vendor. The TEL’s investigation costs decrease from operator to supplier to vendor.
A sports gaming operator must pay a $750,000 annual fee to the state, while it’s $10,000 per year for a supplier. It’s just $500 every three years for a vendor, a low barrier to entry for firms providing services to the sportsbooks and their technology suppliers.
In addition to the $750,000 annual fee, sportsbooks must pay a 20% tax on adjusted gross income.
The barrier to entry for sportsbooks is high, but at least they can operate online only without the need to have a retail component of the operation. Tennessee has no casinos or racetracks, and lottery retailers were not allowed to participate in the sports gambling industry.
Despite the high costs relative to other sports wagering markets, a total of seven operators have either been licensed or have started the paperwork to be licensed. The other three firms have not yet been made public. There is no cap on the number of operators for the state.
