The news remains interesting in the Volunteer State as another TN sportsbook is under review by the Tennessee Education Lottery.
A screenshot posted by The Tennessee Journal shows William Hill accepted a bet on a college player prop, which is prohibited under Tennessee sports betting law.
William Hill did not return a request for comment. The TEL confirmed the issue is “under review:”
“There’s a process in place for violations, and we will follow that process. This matter is under review, however, prop bets on college players are not permitted. The operator has taken those down, and any wagers placed have been voided by the operator.”
No doubt the TEL is closely considering process this time around. Its recent indefinite suspension of Action 24/7 was halted by a temporary injunction after a Chancery Court judge ruled in part that the TEL Board of Directors did not follow proper procedures.
William Hill latest TN sportsbook with issues
William Hill became the fifth sportsbook in Tennessee after the app launched less than three weeks ago.
The error is potentially a technical mistake, as the sportsbook offers betting in states that permit college player prop betting. Still, it is a bad look for the Tennessee sports betting industry in general after the TEL’s messy situation with Action 24/7.
With the court finding TEL was wrong for not following its own rules in the Action 24/7 suspension, all eyes will watch how this issue is addressed.
No defined punishment for prohibited wagers
Unfortunately for the TEL, a clearly defined punishment for this situation does not exist.
College player prop bets are prohibited under Section 4-51-314 of the Tennessee sports betting law:
“lndividual actions, events, statistics, occurrences, or nonoccurrences to be determined during a collegiate sporting event, including, without limitation, in-game proposition bets on the performance or non-performance of a team or individual participant during a collegiate sporting event.”
The rules are a bit vague in terms of punishment, though, according to the license rules, regulations and standards:
Failure to maintain these requirements, conditions, and programs may result in the suspension or revocation of a License or Registration or imposition of a fine.
Any administrative fine cannot exceed $25,000 per incident. So it’ll be up to the TEL to determine the severity of the violation to dictate the punishment.
TN sportsbook bill delayed again
Elsewhere, a proposal that would prevent Action 24/7 customers from having an active loan with sister company Advance Financial 24/7 needs more time.
Time is running out for a proposal that would better define laws surrounding relationships between lending companies and sports bettors.
Sen. Richard Briggs and Rep. Darren Jernigan were prepared to introduce an amendment to their legislation, SB 1029 and HB 824 Tuesday. The amendment would have stated a person could not have both a loan and a gambling account with one company. Both wanted to protect problem gamblers and anyone that might chase a loan repayment.
Left hand, right hand?
There’s just one problem: Action 24/7, the only company affected by the legislation, says that is not possible. The sports betting business would have no way of knowing who has the flex loans, the company told Briggs.
That is despite Jernigan at one point having someone ready to testify their winnings were kept to repay a loan. That person eventually changed their mind.
Briggs said he will meet with Action 24/7 next week, though next week is the last chance for the legislation to make it out of committee. That “doesn’t leave a lot of room unless everything works out perfectly,” Briggs said.
