Sports betting launched in Tennessee on November 1. It overcame resistance from the Governor, but he’s allowing it to go forward without his signature. Sports betting will be new to many Tennessee residents. Here are some answers to basic questions newbies usually have at the beginning.
Tennessee Sports Betting Quick Guide
Sports betting will be new to many Tennessee residents, but it doesn’t have to be scary or intimidating. Odds show how much money bettors can win based on how much risk they take on their lines. Sportsbooks show potential winnings in the bet slip when bettors are placing their bets, too. Bettors can make many types of bets, whether they want to wager on who will win or how many points the teams will score together. New bettors will also get bonuses that can increase betting amounts but come with strict conditions beforehand.
Creating sportsbook accounts is often as easy as entering basic online details and flipping past a few screens. However, sportsbooks also need sensitive information that bettors may feel reluctant to reveal. The State of Tennessee ensures licensed sportsbooks are secure by requiring independent security assessments and evidence of a sportsbook’s follow-through on its recommendations. Bettors can trust sportsbooks that have been licensed by the State of Tennessee.
This should get new bettors started, but there’s much more to learn through experience. Tennessee residents who want to try TN sports betting will find the best way to learn about it is to try it.
Tennessee Sports Betting Apps
Here are the four Tennessee sports betting apps that are currently available as of launch (November 1):
- Draftkings Sportsbook
- BetMGM
- FanDuel Sportsbook
- Action 24/7
Sports Betting Basics
Opening a sportsbook can be intimidating for new bettors. The numbers–and even the types of bets–are unintuitive. And that’s before getting into bets and boosts. If bettors need a quick guide to what’s on a sportsbook screen, this will help.
What Do Odds Mean?
Odds are the likelihood that a sportsbook event will occur. However, they’re not shown in percentages. They’re often shown in numbers that are greater than +100 and lower than -100. These odds can be converted to percentages. +100 and -100 both equal 50%. Negative odds are more than 50% and positive odds are less than 50%. Negatives are the favorites to win. Positives are the underdogs.
There’s a quick way to understand what the odds mean for bettor’s money. Positive odds are how much money bettors will make on a $100 bet. Bettors who bet a $100 on a +500 line would win $500.
Negative odds show how much money bettors have to bet to win $100. If bettors wager $500 on a -500 line, then they’ll win $100. Negative odds are more likely to happen, so bettors won’t win as much if their bet comes through.
However, inquisitive bettors will notice something interesting. If bettors convert a line’s odds to percentages, the percentages don’t add up to 100%. They can add up to percentages as high as 112%. Sportsbooks add house advantages to their sports betting lines. They use statistics to manage risk and ensure they profit from their entire selection of lines. It’s the same way casinos have house advantages in their games.
What Are The Different Types Of Bets?
There are three basic types of game lines:
- Moneylines
- Point spreads
- Point totals
Moneyline bets are wagers on who wins the match. It’s easy. Point totals are bets on how many points the teams will score together. That one’s also easy. Point spreads are a little more complex. They’re bets on how much the winning team will win by. So, if bettors think the Titans will beat the Broncos by more than three points, they can place a point spread bet on it.
Bettors will also find futures bets, which are high-risk wagers on different outcomes of the season. They include championship games, but they can also be on who will win league awards. Bettors can also make prop bets, which are widely considered fun bets. They’re on little things like who will make the first pass or the first field goal. Bettors have many types of bets to choose from.
How Do Bonuses Work?
Sportsbook bonuses are incentives for new bettors to try sports betting. There are two main types that Tennessee sports bettors will encounter: deposit bonuses and risk-free bets.
Deposit bonuses reward bettors for making large deposits upfront and using them. For example, DraftKings offers $500 at 20%. That means for every $5 bettors deposit, their sportsbook will add $1 in site credits. DraftKings will deposit up to $500 bonus site credits, then stop.
Risk-free bets refund losing a bet’s stakes. FanDuel offers a $1,000 risk-free bet for new users. That means if bettors wager $1,000 on their first bet, they’ll get $1,000 in site credits if they lose.
However, bettors must pay attention to the terms and conditions that accompany bonuses. Bettors often have a limited time or number of wagers to take advantage of them. They should make sure they understand a bonus’ terms before trying to cash in on it.
Creating Sportsbook Accounts
If sports betting is demystified, bettors may want to start creating accounts. Most of the process is identical to creating any other online account. Bettors give their names, addresses, emails. Pieces of information they’re used to distributing freely.
However, sportsbooks also require their users’ social security numbers. This may alarm bettors, but sportsbooks have a good reason for asking for their customers’ socials. The Patriot Act requires financial institutions to identify their customers to make sure they aren’t allowing terrorists to use their services. This used to be to keep banks from allowing Al-Qaeda operatives from using banking services. However, sportsbooks are considered a financial institution under the Patriot Act. So, they must know who they’re taking money from and sending it to. It also keeps known criminals from money laundering through sportsbooks.
Some sportsbooks go further and require more identity verification measures. They may require bettors to upload a government-issued ID or a utility bill. However, most sportsbooks don’t go that far. Usually, bettors only have to provide their social security number.
Once bettors complete the signup form, they can add a card or bank account to deposit and begin betting.
Is My Account Information Safe?
New bettors may wonder how sportsbooks will keep bank accounts and social security numbers safe. Those are sensitive pieces of data that cannot get into the wrong hands.
However, the Tennessee legislature has standardized sportsbook security requirements. They require sportsbooks to undergo an independent security audit–at the sportsbook’s expense. But the security audit is far from the final step. Sportsbooks must also submit a report that includes:
- The security audit
- Its recommendations
- The sportsbook’s response to those recommendations
That ensures that Tennessee’s sportsbooks fix any security shortcomings before launch. It keeps bettors as safe as they can be online, and it ensures only legitimate, serious sportsbooks are allowed to operate in Tennessee.
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