Sportsbook Legislative Roundup – Canada Delays and Tennessee Wants a Fall Launch

In this sportsbook legislative update, we will look at the latest developments in Canada and Tennessee. In Canada, the Parliament entered a recess that stopped all progress on the sports betting legislation.

The Parliament discontinued the session. Thus, lawmakers need to reintroduce bills they were previously tackling when the legislative session resumes. Canada lets provinces to regulate sports wagering. However, players can only bet on parlays of at least three games.

Conservative MP Kevin Waugh introduced Bill C-218 to make single-event wagering legal during the last session. The bill was waiting for another reading. MP Brian Masse said that their colleagues promised that sports betting would pass after the past election. However, it remains a bill after a year.

Sportsbook Legislative Roundup in Tennessee

Tennessee hopes to launch its online sportsbook platforms in time for the NFL season. According to pay per head sportsbook reports, the Tennessee Educational Lottery wants to launch an online sports betting platform in fall.

Also, they don’t expect the launch to be later than November 1. Based on a political forum, the state doesn’t expect the sportsbook to launch in September as the Lottery initially planned. The Lottery said that four operators applied to be sportsbook operators in the state.

The first step on how to be a bookie in Tennessee is to apply for a license. Once approved, the operator needs to pay $750,000 for the license each year. Also, the state will only offer online wagering. It will not have any retail locations.

Finally, DraftKings launched in Illinois last week. The company had to wait longer before it can open an online sportsbook in the state, along with FanDuel. The two sports betting firms had to wait 18 months after casinos apply for licenses. Lawmakers placed the provision to punish operators that offered daily fantasy sports in the state before the legalization of sports betting.