Tennessee approves William Hill and Wynn Sports online sportsbooks

The Tennessee Lottery’s Sports Wagering Committee gave the green light to two more operators under the state’s online-only sports betting law, William Hill and Wynn Sports.

According to Lottery CEO Rebecca Hargrove, these companies and Churchill Downs have said they won't go live in the state in time for the Super Bowl on Feb. 7, the Associated Press reports.

One operator’s server was near where a bomb detonated in downtown Nashville on Christmas, Hargrove said.

FanDuel, BetMGM, DraftKings and Tennessee Action 24/7 are up and running in Tennessee. Churchill Downs, operating a sportsbook named BetAmerica that is rebranding as TwinSpires, received previous approval but isn’t running yet.

Tennessee’s online-only sports betting has seen $312.3 million in gross wagers in its first two months of November and December, yielding $5.4 million in privilege taxes.

Sports betting narrowly passed in spring 2019. Republican Gov. Bill Lee let it become law without signing it due to his opposition to more gambling in a state without casinos. After the law took effect that summer, the lottery was tasked with coming up with rules and vetting operators and others looking to get into Tennessee’s industry. Now the lottery regulates how sports betting is carried out.