Guide to Tennessee Gambling Age: Casinos, Sports Betting & More

Unfortunately for fans of placing wagers, Tennessee has an incredibly strict anti-gambling approach. There are absolutely no land-based casinos within the state, this includes commercial and tribal casinos. This lack of support and enthusiasm towards gambling has always been Tennessee’s approach, there has never been any casino gaming within the state and at the turn of the 20th century, even horse racing was outlawed. the first glimmer of hope for Tennessee residents who are fans of games of chance only arrived in 2002 when a lottery was legalized.

On this page we will go into further detail regarding the Tennessee gambling age, we will discuss what limited forms of legalized wagering are available to state residents as well as posturing as to whether there may be any legal changes upcoming in the state’s laws.

In the table above we’ve outlined the legal gambling age in the state of Tennessee. As you can see from the table above there are a very limited number of legal forms of gambling available to state residents. If there is not an age located underneath, then that form of gaming is most likely illegal within Tennessee.

As mentioned earlier, each of the sections below will individually address each form of popular gambling and its legal status within Tennessee as well as giving top tips and insight and to each form and whether there are any upcoming changes to its legal status.

Casino Age in Tennessee

As mentioned in this page’s introduction, there are zero forms of legal casino gambling available to residents of Tennessee. Keeping in line with many of the other southern states in the US, Tennessee has adopted some of the strictest and most prohibitive laws in terms of gambling. This adoption of extremely prohibitive laws most likely reflects the states conservative values, and a large amount of religious and conservative lobbying groups present within the state.

So strict are Tennessee’s gambling laws that all bricks and mortar casinos are explicitly illegal as outlined within the state’s constitution. As casino gaming is illegal in Tennessee there is no legal age restriction within the state.

While many other states are hugely supportive of land-based casino gambling as it brings in a large amount of state revenue through taxes applied to the operators, Tennessee is yet to see this benefit. They have also been at little to no moves by the state legislature to even consider introducing a limited form of casino gambling within the state. Even tribal casinos, which were made legal federally under the Indian gaming act of 1988 have been shut out of Tennessee.

Therefore, it looks like casino gambling will remain illegal in Tennessee for the foreseeable future until either the state legislature can see the benefits that casinos can bring in terms of the taxes raised by casinos operating within the area. Or state residents put enough pressure on the state legislature to consider legalizing this form of gaming.

What are The Casinos In Tennessee that accept 18 year Olds?

As casino gambling as a whole is illegal within Tennessee there are no casinos that allow entry to 18-year-olds within the state borders. to see a list of the forms of wagering there are available to 18-year-olds in the state, take a look at our easy to read Tennessee gambling ages table located at the top of this page.

Sports Betting In Tennessee

Like casino gambling, sports betting is currently an illegal activity in Tennessee. As established earlier, Tennessee has historically had an incredibly harsh approach to all forms of gambling akin to many other southern states in the US. however, for fans of sports betting yeah maybe some hope.

After the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act 1992 (PASPA), with overturned by the Supreme Court in 2011 many states across the US have been making moves to legalize sports betting, specifically focusing on mobile and online sports betting. in the case of Tennessee, in April 2019 I’ve seen it bill was passed by the Senate committee which allowed for the legalization of mobile and online sports betting within the state. the final hurdle this bill needs to pass is getting the governor’s signature, from all accounts it appears that Tennessee’s governor is supportive of the spill and had intended to let the law come into effect in 2020.

Sadly for fans of sports betting in Tennessee, the COVID-19 pandemic has it scuppered plans for sports betting to enter the law in Tennessee within 2020. due to states attention being drawn elsewhere the passing of gambling reform laws have been put on the back burner. once life returns to a sense of normal we are hopeful that Tennessee’s lawmakers will be able two-putt the new sports betting laws into effect. However, and talk things do return to normal sports betting will remain illegal at bricks and mortar locations as well as online.

For those fans of pari-mutuel betting on horse racing, Tennessee is not the state for you. In 1906 betting on horse racing was made illegal, in 1987 this was overturned and a racing Control Act was approved that would have overseen horse racing and pari-mutuel betting within the state as well as establishing a state racing Commission. However, no race tracks were ever constructed within Tennessee State borders and moves to establish a Commission Were disbanded in 1988. in 2015 the 1987 act was repealed, and horse racing and pari mutuel wagering on it retained its illegal status in Tennessee.

TN Online Gambling Age

As most forms of in-person gambling are illegal in Tennessee, it follows that most forms of online gaming are also illegal. Online casinos are considered illegal within the state even though it is not explicitly stated within the states constitution.

For some legal interpreters when it comes to online gambling, the legal situation could be read either way. As the state’s constitution does not explicitly mention online wagering in any of the definitions, there is an argument to be had that online gambling might not be illegal. However, a more measured approach, which is the one taken by Tennessee’s state legislature, is to interpret the state’s gambling laws as applying to online casino gaming as well. According to Tennessee’s state’s laws wagering anything of value for profit is illegal and under this wide definition it could definitely be assumed that online casinos and online wagering forms are illegal.

Tennessee residents may have noticed that they had access to gambling sites that are run by offshore operators. Raleigh sites may appear appealing to residents of Tennessee with little to no forms of legal gaming at their disposal, due to the fact that these sites are run it by offshore operators, who are not registered all licensed to operate within the US, players who have any issues with gambling on these sites would have no recourse against the operators should anything go wrong as they are not governed by US laws. Further, as online gambling is considered illegal by the state’s legislature residents caught placing wagers on an offshore website could be prosecuted.

Poker Gambling Age

As all forms of in person and online casino gambling are illegal within Tennessee it is a very reasonable assumption to make that all forms of poker are also illegal. Tennessee’s state legislature has in and especially strong dislike for poker. no games of poker are tolerated within the state, the ban even extends to social poker or games of poker that may be played to raise money for charity.

So strong is the Tennessee’s dislike for poker there have been several cases over the years where individuals have been caught playing poker and the state has proceeded with prosecution against them.

Given the states obvious distaste for poker, it is a safe assumption to make that there will be zero moves made to change the legal status of the world’s most popular casino game in Tennessee anytime soon.

Daily Fantasy Sports

In a surprising move for Tennessee, the state became the third state in the US to legalize Daily Fantasy Sports in 2016. the sudden legalization What daily fantasy sports was a welcome surprise to Tennessee sports fans, it was an unprecedented move by the state’s legislature given that important state figures such as the attorney general had publicly stated their dislike for the game.

The rationale for legalizing daily fantasy sports besides in the argument over whether it is a game of chance or skill. there has been a federal declaration that states that daily fantasy sports is a game of skill and not chance, which would mean That daily fantasy sports is technically not a form of gambling – most definitions of gambling require wagering on a game of chance.

The legalization of daily fantasy sports within Tennessee also allowed the state to levy large licensing fees on each operator who chooses to set up shop within the state. the Bell also applied a 6% tax on all revenue generated from Tennessee’s users by daily fantasy sports operators.

Legal Age to Play the Lottery in Tennessee

In keeping with Tennessee’s conservative approach towards gambling, it was very late to introduce a state lottery. The state lottery was only introduced in 2003, however since then The lottery has become a beloved state institution Providing enjoyment to residents while also raising millions of dollars for the state’s education system.

Tennessee’s lottery is run by the Tennessee Lottery Commission who also oversees the distribution of lottery revenue. All lottery revenue raised is reinvested within the state’s education system providing funds for upgrading infrastructure as well as providing funds for educational scholarships.

The legal gambling age for participating in Tennessee’s State lottery is 18 years old. Participants in Tennessee’s lottery had access to bespoke local State Games as well as US favorites such as palpable, Mega Millions, Lucky For Life and Lotto America.

As mentioned earlier on this page all forms of online gaming are illegal within Tennessee and this ban extends to include online lottery. while many states across the US are branching out to include an online lottery in their gambling options Tennessee is yet to do so. Due to Tennessee’s tentative approach towards adopting new forms of gambling, it is safe to assume an online lottery is still a far way off for the state.

Tennessee Gambling Laws & Future Outlook

Tennessee’s restrictive gambling laws can be found in codes 4 and 39 of the state constitution. Under these cards gambling is defined as, ‘risking anything of value for profit whose return as to any degree contingent on chance, not including lawful business transactions’. This incredibly broad definition has been applied across all forms of gaming still considered illegal within the state this is inclusive of land-based casinos, all forms of online chance games and poker.

Where certain forms of gambling had been legalized within Tennessee, such as the state lottery or charitable games of bingo, specific legislation has been introduced which allows these forms to exist as an exemption to the blanket ban on gambling. Should the proposed sports betting bill be finally passed into law, sports betting will be legalized allowed on the same basis.

Even with a severely limited number of legalized gambling forms, Tennessee’s gaming market is pretty healthy. the state lottery raises hundreds of millions of dollars every year that is reinvested within the state. Additionally, the taxes levied against daily fantasy sports operators also brings in a healthy income the state. The proposed sports betting bill will further increase the state’s revenue garnered from forms of gambling, with proposed taxes of 20% being applied to operators.

Due to the fact that there are very limited forms of gambling legal in Tennessee there are no taxes applied to winnings in the state. The only exception to this is the state lottery where a federal tax of 25% is applied to any winnings over $5000.

As established on this page Tennessee has an incredibly backward approach when it comes to gambling. with an incredibly limited form of land-based options available to Tennessee’s state residents, it is certainly not a destination For those who are fans of wagering.

While many states across the US are adapting their gambling laws to allow for forms of online gaming to exist within their state borders, Tennessee seems reticent to adopt any major form of gambling law amendments. That’s why we recommend checking out our gambling ages in the USA guide in order to find out more.

Frequently Asked Questions

We hope that this page has given you a good introduction to the gaming laws in the state, and the Tennessee gambling age required to participate in any form of legalized wagering. However we do understand that you may still have remaining questions that need answers, to assist in this we have answered the most frequently asked questions below.