Legal statewide since November 2020 — and online-only, because Tennessee has no casinos for retail sportsbooks. Around 10 apps operate, including FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, and Caesars.
Legal and regulated. Tennessee was the third US state to pass a DFS law (the 2016 Fantasy Sports Act); DraftKings, FanDuel, and others operate under Secretary of State oversight.
Legal and state-run since 2004. In 2025 the lottery quietly added limited online ticket sales for Powerball and draw games.
Extremely limited. Only registered nonprofits may hold a single annual gaming event (a raffle), with both Secretary of State and legislative approval. There is no legal bingo or ongoing charitable gaming.
Grey area. Tennessee has no racetracks and repealed its racing law in 2015. State law is silent on online advance-deposit horse wagering, and national ADW apps operate for residents in practice.
Banned. Governor Bill Lee signed a law in May 2026 banning online sweepstakes casinos and dual-currency games — making Tennessee the seventh state to do so.
Not legal. Tennessee has no regulated online casino and no realistic path to one — there are no casinos in the state and the governor opposes casino gambling. No iGaming bill surfaced in 2026. Offshore sites accept Tennessee players in a grey area.
Not legal — and with no casinos, there is no legal live poker in Tennessee either, unlike most states. Offshore sites such as ACR and Ignition serve Tennessee players in a grey area; the nearest live rooms are in Mississippi and North Carolina.
In 2025 the Tennessee lottery quietly launched limited online ticket sales, and in May 2026 Governor Bill Lee signed a law banning online sweepstakes casinos — making Tennessee the seventh state to ban them.
Tennessee scrapped its 20% revenue tax and a controversial 10% hold requirement, replacing them with a 1.85% tax on total wagers (handle) — the only such tax in the country. The regulator was also renamed the Sports Wagering Council.
Tennessee moved sports-betting oversight from the lottery to a new independent Sports Wagering Council.
Mobile sportsbooks went live on November 1, 2020. With no casinos in the state, Tennessee became the first US market with no retail sportsbooks at all — betting is 100% online.
The Tennessee Sports Gaming Act legalized online sports wagering — a rare gambling expansion in a historically anti-gambling state.
Tennessee became the third US state to pass a daily-fantasy-sports law.
A 2002 constitutional amendment permitted a state lottery and narrow charity gaming; the Tennessee Education Lottery sold its first ticket in 2004 — the state’s first legal gambling of the modern era.
Tennessee is a partial market with a twist. Online sports betting is legal — but the state has no casinos of any kind, so there is no online casino, no online poker, and no legal live poker anywhere in Tennessee. States like Ohio, Illinois, and Virginia also legalized sports betting without online casino — but they at least have casinos with live poker. Tennessee has neither.
Its 2019 sports-betting law was a rare crack in a historically anti-gambling state, and Governor Bill Lee opposes casino expansion, so an online casino has no realistic path — no iGaming bill even surfaced in 2026. States like Pennsylvania and Michigan run full online casinos; Tennessee is at the opposite end.
So Tennesseans who want to play real-money online poker or casino games do so at offshore sites like Ignition, Bovada, and ACR Poker. The state doesn’t prosecute individual players, but offshore sites carry no Tennessee oversight. For legal live poker, players cross state lines — the nearest rooms are in Mississippi (Tunica) and the Cherokee casinos in western North Carolina.
The practical reality: Tennessee sports bettors use the legal apps (FanDuel, DraftKings, and others). For online casino games and poker there’s no legal option, and no casinos to play live either — most players use established offshore sites and withdraw via crypto.
Tennessee has legal, regulated online sports betting — but no casinos, no online casino, and no online poker. For sports, use the licensed apps; for casino games and poker online, the only option is offshore. (There is no in-state live poker — the nearest casinos are across state lines.)
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Solid all-rounder — poker + sports + casino with the best card deposit rates
Good — Best US poker site, solid casino, crypto-first
Strong casino library with 500+ games, fast crypto, but no poker room
Ignition’s sister casino — great for slots and blackjack, fast crypto payouts
Good casino, no poker — best for slots and blackjack variety
Ignition family casino — strong table games, fast crypto, slots-focused branding
Solid all-rounder — poker + sports + casino with the best card deposit rates
Good — Best US poker site, solid casino, crypto-first
Best US MTT schedule and rakeback — but ongoing bot/RTA concerns at mid-stakes
ACR’s sister site — same network, same games, rakeback option
Subscription sweepstakes poker from the official WPT — novel legal structure, thin games.
Solid all-rounder — poker + sports + casino with the best card deposit rates
The biggest regulated US name with casino, poker, and sportsbook under one login.
Polished app and strong brand, but thin video poker, no 24/7 support, and state-variable game counts hold it back from the top tier.
Slickest casino app in US regulated gaming on the surface — but Trustpilot sits at 1.2/5 on consistent complaints about slow withdrawals, poor support, and bet-grading disputes.
Here’s what sets Tennessee apart: it has no casinos at all. No commercial casinos, no tribal casinos, no racinos, no card rooms — none. It is one of the very few states with legal sports betting but zero casino gambling.
The roots run deep. Tennessee’s constitution banned lotteries and gambling from the start, and it took a 2002 amendment just to allow a lottery. There are no federally recognized tribes with gaming lands in the state, so there is no tribal path either, and Governor Bill Lee opposes casino expansion.
The practical upshot for poker players: there is no legal live poker room anywhere in Tennessee. The nearest options are the casinos in Tunica, Mississippi, and the Cherokee casinos in western North Carolina — both a drive from the major Tennessee cities.
The Tennessee Sports Wagering Council licenses and oversees all sportsbooks, with responsible-gaming rules and a statewide voluntary self-exclusion program (1, 3, or 5 years).
DFS is regulated by the Secretary of State, and the Tennessee Education Lottery is state-run. Consumer protections apply to these licensed products.
No Tennessee protection. Offshore casino and poker sites are unlicensed — no fund segregation, no dispute recourse. Sweepstakes casinos are now banned outright. If an offshore site refuses to pay, you have no recourse.
Our guidance: For sports betting, use the SWC-licensed apps. For online poker and casino games — not legal in Tennessee, and with no casinos to play live — use established offshore operators with 5+ year track records and crypto payouts, or cross into Mississippi or North Carolina for live poker. Tennessee does not prosecute individual players.
If gambling stops being fun — or if you're gambling to solve financial problems — free, confidential help is available 24/7. Tennessee's REDLINE connects residents to treatment and referrals.
Primary sources cited throughout this guide.
