American casino operator Churchill Downs Incorporated has reportedly just received conditional approval to begin offering online sportsbetting to punters in the southern state of Tennessee.

According to a Thursday report from the Associated Press news service, the move from the Tennessee Education Lottery regulator means that five enterprises are to now be authorized to run online sportsbetting in ‘The Volunteer State’ following earlier certifications for FanDuel Group, Tennessee Action 24/7, DraftKings Incorporated and the BetMGM app from the Roar Digital joint venture of MGM Resorts International and Entain.

Legislative largess:

Tennessee reportedly passed legislation in the spring of 2019 that allowed licensed firms to begin offering online-only sportsbetting to anyone over the age of 21 from last November. The first eight days of this new regime subsequently proved successful as licensed operators purportedly chalked up aggregated handle of around $27 million and paid approximately $509,000 in tax.

Filling footprint:

The news service moreover reported that Churchill Downs Incorporated is currently in the process of folding its BetAmerica sportsbetting service into its well-known TwinSpires online parimutuel wagering business, which is to now be licensed by regulators in seven states encompassing Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Michigan alongside Indiana, Colorado, New Jersey and Mississippi.

Coming considerations:

Rebecca Hargove serves as Chief Executive Officer for the Tennessee Education Lottery and she reportedly told the Associated Press that Churchill Downs Incorporated still has a few more required steps to satisfy before it will be officially permitted to go live. The lottery boss purportedly finished by detailing that her organization also intends to hold an official meeting later this month that could well result in even more firms being licensed to offer online sportsbetting to punters in Tennessee.