(a) The following persons or categories of persons shall not, directly or indirectly, wager or bet on a sporting event in this state:

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class C misdemeanorup to 30 daysup to $50
class A misdemeanorup to 11 monthsup to $2,500
class B misdemeanorup to 6 monthsup to $500
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 4-49-112

  • bet: means a sum of money that is risked by a bettor on the unknown outcome of one (1) or more sporting events, including, but not limited to, the form of fixed-odds betting, a future bet, live betting, a money line bet, pari-mutuel betting, parlay bet, pools, proposition bet, spread bet, or in any other form or manner as authorized by rule promulgated by the council. See Tennessee Code 4-49-102
  • Collegiate: means belonging to, or involving, a public or private institution of higher education. See Tennessee Code 4-49-102
  • Collegiate sporting event: means a sporting or athletics event involving a sports or athletics team of a public or private institution of higher education. See Tennessee Code 4-49-102
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Council: means the sports wagering council. See Tennessee Code 4-49-102
  • Licensee: means a person who holds a license issued under §. See Tennessee Code 4-49-102
  • Online sports wagering platform: means the combination of hardware, software, and data networks used to manage, administer, or control sports wagering and any associated wagers accessible by any electronic means, including mobile applications and internet websites accessed via a mobile device or computer. See Tennessee Code 4-49-102
  • Person: means an individual, group of individuals, trust, or business entity. See Tennessee Code 4-49-102
  • Sporting event: means any professional sporting or athletic event, including motorsports and e-sports, any collegiate sporting or athletic event, or any Olympic sporting or athletic event sanctioned by a national or international organization or association. See Tennessee Code 4-49-102
  • Sports governing body: means the organization, league, or association that oversees a sport and prescribes final rules and enforces codes of conduct with respect to such sport and participants therein. See Tennessee Code 4-49-102
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Supervisory employee: means a principal or employee having the authority to act on behalf of a licensee or whose judgment is being relied upon to manage and advance the business operations of a licensee. See Tennessee Code 4-49-102
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • Vendor: means a person who:
    (i) Provides one (1) or more of the following:
    (a) Geolocation services. See Tennessee Code 4-49-102
(1) A member, officer, or employee of the council, except that an employee of the council may place a nominal wager as part of an investigation or audit on behalf of the council. Winnings paid to an employee of the council based on a winning wager as part of an investigation or audit must be separately accounted for by the council and returned to the operator on a quarterly basis;
(2) With respect to a licensee, any principal owner, partner, member of the board of directors, officer, or supervisory employee;
(3) With respect to a vendor of a licensee, any principal owner, partner, member of the board of directors, officer, or supervisory employee;
(4) Any contractor, subcontractor, or consultant, or officer or employee of a contractor, subcontractor, or consultant, of a licensee, if the person is directly involved in the licensee’s operation of sports wagering or the processing of sports wagering claims or payments through the licensee’s online sports wagering platform;
(5) Any person subject to a contract with the council if the contract contains a provision prohibiting the person from participating in sports wagering;
(6) Any person with access to information that is known exclusively to a person who is prohibited from placing a wager in this state under this section;
(7) Any amateur or Olympic athlete if the wager is based on the sport or athletic event in which the athlete participates and that is overseen by the athlete’s sports governing body;
(8) Any professional athlete if the wager is based on any sport or athletic event overseen by the athlete’s sports governing body;
(9) Any owner or employee of a team, player, umpire or sports union personnel, or employee, referee, coach, or official of a sports governing body, if the wager is based on a sporting event overseen by the person’s sports governing body;
(10) Any trustee or regent of a governing board of a public or private institution of higher education;
(11) Any member of an advisory board established under title 49, chapter 9, part 5;
(12) Any person prohibited by the rules of a governing body of a collegiate sports team, league, or association from participating in sports wagering activities;
(13) With respect to a student or an employee of a public or private institution of higher education, any person who has access to material nonpublic information concerning a student athlete or team, and the information is relevant to the outcome of a sporting event; provided, that the person is only prohibited from using the information to place a wager on a collegiate sporting event; and
(14) Any person having the ability to directly affect the outcome of a sporting event.
(b) The council may prescribe by rule additional categories of persons who are prohibited from placing a wager in this state.
(c) The council shall post on its website the categories set forth in subsection (a) of persons who are ineligible to place a wager in this state.
(d) A violation of subsection (a) is:

(1) For a first offense, a Class C misdemeanor;
(2) For a second offense, a Class B misdemeanor; and
(3) For a third or subsequent offense, a Class A misdemeanor.
(e) As used in this section, “material nonpublic information” has the same meaning as defined in § 4-49-130(d).
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