News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
A bill allowing online sports betting in Tennessee passed the state’s House of Representatives Wednesday.
25th District Representative Cameron Sexton (Crossville) said the bill would help reduce the amount of illegal betting across the state.
“We have bookies all across the state of Tennessee that are unregulated, operating behind the scenes, there’s no protection for individuals or children [affected],” Sexton said. “You can run up massive debt to the bookie. So in this scenario, the bill would only do online, it didn’t do brick-and-mortar. It has protections in there and has age restrictions in there.”
Meanwhile, 41st District Representative John Mark Windle (Livingston) voted against the bill after hearing from his constituents.
“The addiction to sports betting ruins many lives and hurts many families,” Windle said. “The constituents I represent in Morgan, Fentress, Overton, and Jackson Counties contacted me and said they are not for having sports book access on your mobile phone in Tennessee.”
The bill would implement a 10-percent tax on gaming revenue. That revenue would then be split three ways, with 40 percent going towards the state general fund, 30 percent towards community colleges, and 30 percent to local governments for education and infrastructure.
Sexton and 42nd Representative Ryan Williams (Cookeville) were the two Upper Cumberland lawmakers who voted in favor of the bill Wednesday.
Sexton said the bill would also benefit law enforcement agencies across the state in taking down illegal gambling.
“Law enforcement [agencies] are in favor of getting this into a regulatory oversight area where they can better understand who the criminals are,” Sexton said. “Right now, it’s in the shadows of criminal activity. I think it put in a lot of safeguards that would protect children and protect individuals. You can’t use a credit card, it has to be a debit card.”
Windle said the construction of the bill already points to potential dangers down the road.
“It’s a moral issue. If people want to gamble, I guess they’re going to gamble, but the State of Tennessee doesn’t have to sanction that,” Windle said. “When you build in funds to take care of addiction treatment for gambling, you know there’s a problem going in.”
The bill passed the House 58-37 and will be considered by State Senators next Tuesday before it goes to Governor Bill Lee for final approval.
