It is a defense to prosecution if the person 'in good faith relied upon the representations of a gambling promoter that a gambling activity was lawful.'
'Gambling' means 'risking anything of value for a profit whose return is to any degree contingent on chance, not including lawful business transactions.' In doing so, it became the first state to approve mobile betting before casino gaming.Īccording to Tennessee Code § 39-17-502, 'a person commits an offense who knowingly engages in gambling' that has not been licensed by the state. Which makes it all the more surprising, then, that Tennessee legalized online sports betting in the spring of 2019. The relevant law was eventually repealed in 2015. State laws permitted horse race betting for almost three decades, but opposition from individual counties prevented potential investors from actually building a racetrack. The state has no federally recognized tribes and therefore no Native American casinos. The Volunteer State has no casinos, and legislative attempts to introduce Las Vegas-style gaming have failed to gain any serious momentum.
Until quite recently, the only legal options were the state lottery and charitable gambling in the form of bingo and raffles. Tennessee is very prohibitive about gambling.
