Tennessee – Online Casinos & Gambling Regulations

Find the Best American Casino Online

Unfortunately, there are no casinos to be found in the state of Tennessee as casino gambling is not legal. Luckily, you can rely on some great alternatives that are just around the corner. Many players regularly go on a weekend trip to Mississippi where gambling is fully legalized. The city of Tunica is a very popular destination, for example. There are other options, as well, but they are not as convenient to reach for the locals. If you chose to pay Mississippi a visit to test your luck, you should keep in mind that the legal age for gambling is 21. 

Alternatively, you can also play at various gambling sites but only online sports betting is officially legal in Tennessee. There are numerous international online casinos accepting players from the United States. The state is relatively tolerant and does not actively investigate those who chose to play at foreign-based online casinos.

• Check the jurisdiction of the online casino first
• Does the casino accept players from Tennessee?
• Do you have access to the accepted payment methods?
• Is the casino properly licensed to ensure fair gaming?
• The minimum age for sports betting in Tennessee is 21
• The minimum age for all gambling in Mississippi is 21

In order to find out more about the best foreign-based online casinos that accept players from Tennessee, we suggest checking out our GoodLuckMate top lists and casino reviews.

Gambling Regulation – Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation

Until recently, most forms of gambling were illegal in the state of Tennessee. This changed on 1 November 2020 when a new law was passed to legalize sports betting. Representative Rick Staples, a Democrat from Knoxville, started pre-filing legislation for House Bill 1 in late 2018. They faced some opposition from a few lawmakers but the majority of officials supported the move to legalize sports betting. In 2019, then, the bill passed the House by a 58-37 vote and the Senate by 20-12. 

The so-called “Sports Gaming Act became” officially came into effect on July 1, 2019. But first, the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation (TELC) had to agree on the specifics of the regulations. Ultimately it took until 1 November 2020, when betting became officially legal and available to the public. Currently, the only other legal gambling options are the state lottery, horse racing, and a small list of games used as fundraisers for charitable groups. 

Casino games are not legal in Tennessee but locals commonly visit casinos in surrounding states. Online casinos are technically also prohibited. However, this doesn’t keep gamblers from Tennessee playing at foreign-based casinos on the internet. One reason for this is that illegal gambling penalties in the state are extremely low. On the first and second offense, a fine of no more than 50 US dollars can be issued. Only on the 3rd offense, more severe charges come into play but, so far, no felonies have been associated with online gambling offenses.   

Localized Online Casinos

At this point, we are not aware of any international online casinos that are specifically targeting Tennessee as a market. This is due to the fact that online casinos are technically illegal in this state. However, some of them do still accept players from the area so you won’t have a hard time finding an online casino that suits your needs. The vast majority of them offer English-speaking customer support and accept local payment methods such as credit cards and bank transfers, too. Good alternatives for making deposits are the various eWallets such as Neteller and Skrill. It’s also worth checking out their international promotions and welcome bonuses. In most cases, players from Tennessee are fully eligible to receive such offers.   

Gambling with US Dollars

While you are in Tennessee, it is possible to participate in the National Lottery using US dollars. Since late 2020, it is also fine to place bets in the local currency at government-approved betting sites and apps. Currently, there are no plans to extend the betting market to physical sports betting locations – with the exception of already existing horse racing tracks. US dollars are also accepted in all casinos outside the state, such as Mississippi. Foreign-based online casinos that accept players from Tennessee generally also support the US dollar as a currency.    

Casinos in Tennessee

As most forms of gambling are illegal in Tennessee, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that you won’t be able to find any casinos in the state. But there are several popular alternatives in the surrounding states that can be reached within a few hours by car. The closest alternative for the majority of residents of Tennessee is Tunica in Mississippi. It is only about half an hour away from Memphis and about a three-hour drive from Nashville. 

Tunica offers great casino resorts that are heavily reliant on national tourists from Tennessee. Some of the best casinos are the Hollywood Casino, Sam’s Town Casino Resort, the Horseshoe Casino & Hotel, the luxurious Gold Strike Casino Resort, the Fitz Casino & Hotel, and the 1st Jackpot Casino. Almost all of them offer a great range of slot machines and table games such as craps, blackjack, casino poker, cash game poker, and roulette. Online casinos that accept players from Tennessee are often based in Curaçao, Anjouan, St. Kitts, and Costa Rica, amongst other jurisdictions.