TN Sports Betting: A Mixed Bag of Good, Bad and Overblown Fears

If you live in the state of Tennessee, there’s a good chance your blood runs orange or blue, maybe both. Now, on the heels of the new TN sports betting laws, sports fans can mix in a little green, too.

At least, that’s the plan.

Unfortunately, some are already shining a light of despair. With depressing predictions ranging from destroyed marriages to mounting debts, many believe the road to gambling is paved with high divorce rates, poverty, and devastated lives.

Sound extreme? It gets worse from there.

To be fair, these outcomes are real possibilities. Then again, one could fall in a pothole, break a leg, and suffer similar results.

With such a bleak forecast in the shadows of the new laws, it’s hard to imagine why anyone would want to gamble on sports. Right?

Think again.

Gambling on sports is a multi-billion dollar industry so Tennesseans can ignore the negativity surrounding the sportsbooks. Instead, focus on the profit potential. Why not enter into the sports betting world with an investor’s mindset or perhaps even look at it as a night out and good ‘ole entertainment?

Let’s address a few fears right out of the starting gate. Most of these unfounded prophecies aren’t steeped in facts, which mean the prognosis is generally good for the sports bettor interested in gambling for entertainment. There’s little reason to bet on games while focusing on media-fueled fears of becoming a problem gambler.  Instead, focus on smart betting practices and perhaps you’ll be surprised by the winning outcomes.

Legal Online Betting is Better for Tracking Spending Habits

While Tennessee cut a huge revenue-producing avenue out of the equation by going the route of online gambling instead of allowing brick and mortar sportsbooks, they also provided a built-in security system for those who may need to develop money management skills.

When bettors opens and funds a Tennessee sportsbook account, their wagers are tracked through their account betting history. That account holder can see which bets they’ve placed, how much they’ve won or lost, and review all other historical data.

Brick and mortar sportsbooks can track the bets by implementing things like players’ cards and VIP programs, but they rarely hand players a profit and loss statement at the end of a gaming session. The shock of what you’re spending typically shows up in the mailbox during tax season unless it’s requested sooner.

Think about it. Brick and mortar casinos don’t want you to know when you’re losing and don’t want to advertise it when you’re winning. Casinos, as we all know, are notorious for keeping gamblers twice removed from their funds.

When someone walks into a brick-and-mortar casino, they put their cash in a slot machine and that cash becomes a bunch of credits on the machine. When the player cashes out, they receive a white slip of paper, not the cash that they originally put into the machine.

And get this, when you play at a brick and mortar casino, you’ll almost always find long lines at the cashier cage. Why? Why not play one of the hard-to-miss tighter slots as you’re waiting in line, right?

With online sportsbooks and casinos, things are more manageable. You click through your deposit options and fund the account. You can then study the games, use the available tools to make informed decisions, and place multiple bets without pressure.

Most of the tools will give you a gaming edge that you don’t always have in a brick-and-mortar casino. Oh sure, you can look up data on your phone, but when you’re at home, placing bets from the comfort of your own home, it’s easier and less stressful.

The trick is to manage the bankroll. Smart gamblers know that it always, always begins with the money and how well a gambler can manage it. Whether we agree with the decision or not, Tennessee lawmakers made that easy because they want online betting to happen at home (or from your phone).

Are Dire Sports Betting Addiction Predictions A Distraction?

With all the negative press about the consequences of gambling, we have to ask ourselves this—how exactly are these negative stories unraveling? Thanks to online betting and backwoods bookies, the truth isn’t out there. It may be someone’s truth, but the data isn’t accurate. There’s no way it could be. Not yet. We’re still young pups in terms of legalized gambling. For decades, we had limited options.

To assume that a large number of people will engage in sports betting and become problem gamblers is ridiculous. If we want to look into addictions, we have a bigger problem with the 8-15 year olds who are experiencing vision problems and social anxiety because their parents handed them a computer game straight out of the womb. If you don’t think a toddler has an addiction to a computerized game, take it away and see what happens.

Think adults have gambling problems? Look closer at those who are more volatile. Take a teenager’s phone away for an hour and then you’ll see the true ramifications of addiction and withdrawals without a chemical dependency.

In other words, we’re spending too much time focusing on a very small percentage of ‘problem gamblers’ when there are more pressing concerns—our youth.

Without touching too much on the conspiracy behind all these planted seeds, we have to look at the realistic issues at hand. We have a lot of people out there who don’t have anything else to do except grumble about someone else’s lifestyle.

Gambling on sports is the same as enjoying a drink on a patio with a group of girlfriends. It’s no better or worse than the sixth-grader who wants another app for their game. Those things are downright expensive, by the way.

Betting on sports is entertainment at its finest. It’s competitive and fun. Plus, unlike an arcade game from bygone days, we can actually win by gambling on sports.

That’s not to say that sports betting isn’t a problem for some gamblers, but the majority of those who bet on sports can be relatively assured of a safer outcome than those who may have a penchant for games that depend on luck instead of skill.

Bingo halls and casinos are filled with elderly players who will fight you for their favorite slot machine or stab you with a bingo dauber if your card overlaps theirs. Many of these players often rely on a monthly pension to carry them from one day to the next.

If we should worry about the fabric of our nation, the concerns and judgments might be better placed there. The over 70 crowd favor chance-type games such as slots, bingo, and keno which help casinos keep the lights on while making their stockholders happy.

On the other hand, the average sports bettor is typically male and falls between the ages of 18-40. They earn over $70,000 a year, and by all outer appearances, do not live on a limited household budget. With that in mind, there are some valid concerns with the 18-20 age range. Maturity is necessary for money management and that particular age group may not have the discipline to place informed wagers. This could become a problem for sure…if the casinos were interested in taking their bets.

They are not.

The bookie down the street, however, will take those bets all day long. Age minimums aren’t a concern.

This is where the legalized sportsbooks should get a lot of positive votes.

Traditionally, sports betting has been considered a man’s game and a woman’s nightmare.  With the aforementioned, women, it’s time to jump in the game. Your time is now.

More about that in a minute.

Regulated Sports Betting Has Its Benefits, Too

Legalizing sportsbooks cuts down on crime. It does. Maybe you live in an area where you don’t know a lot of bookies, but they exist. With the new laws, many of them have decided to pack it up and call it a day. That’s good news for several communities.

Regulated sportsbooks protect the gambler. They operate within the confines of the law. Bookies don’t follow laws and they won’t be bound by a set of rules.

So you see, there’s nothing to fear.  Sports betting is here to stay so it’s time to embrace it.

Women, you’re as well-equipped to join the fun as your male counterparts. Study the games. Get interested. Be involved.

The sportsbook can be your friend or foe. You get to decide. If you’re smart, you’ll jump on that now so when the time rolls around, you’ll know what your budget looks like before you place that first bet on sports.

Those who worry about the demise of marriages, relationships, prosperity, etc. aren’t willing to step a little closer to see the bigger picture and the bigger picture is filled with opportunities.

When a lot of money is in play, people begin to notice, and a lot of unnecessary fears roll to the fore. Split camps form and divided teams take shape on each side of the field. Some people support sports betting, but they want laws in place to ensure there are safety precautions within that realm. Tennessee has that covered with online betting restrictions. However, make no mistake, while you can keep track of your online bets, there will be some restrictions. We won’t know the extent of those until July, but we’ll all be watching for them.

Tennessee Sports Betting Law and Missed Opportunities

While Tennessee gave gamblers something to anticipate, they also missed a prime opportunity. Sadly, it’s not the first time that Tennesseans let rumors take flight without any merit to give them wind.

Case in point: Nashville, Tennessee. When Branson, Missouri popped up on the map, there were all these fears that the country music capital was heading West.

Drive out to Branson and look around and then come on back to Nashville and see if you still believe that country music settled in Missouri. It’s not going to happen because Nashville is known for its country music. It’s in the ground. It’s in the air. Country music history is wrapped around Nashville’s very spine.

The same holds true with Las Vegas and gambling.

The ridiculous notion that Nashville would become the next Vegas was nothing more than a tiny seed planted in the legislature that inevitably halted what a lot of folks viewed as a good thing. So, Tennessee ‘settled’ for online sportsbooks only.

Some say we should be glad to have that.

Most would say, “Sure. We are. Let’s get this party started.”

Still, we’ve left a lot of money on the table and it’s only a matter of time before Tennessee lawmakers recognize the error of their ways. If brick-and-mortar sportsbooks had received the green light, thousands of jobs would’ve been created. Instead, we’re sending that money overseas to the international sports betting companies that will be managing the majority of our online sportsbooks.

Some consider that shameful. Others believe it’s time to embrace the old philosophy of one step at a time.

Brick and mortar sportsbooks would’ve brought revenue to cities and small towns. Gamblers eat. They spend money on alcohol. They stay in hotels and buy trinkets.

This is the revenue Tennessee could’ve used.

Instead, we got all tied up in the negativity that surrounded the gambling industry. We didn’t look at the positive things that could happen for our great state.

With the looming presence of another addiction, it’s time to call for a halt to a crisis that hasn’t become a disaster quite yet. Hopefully, it never will.

Unlike other addictions (drugs, alcohol), gambling is not a chemical dependency. That’s not to say someone couldn’t develop an addiction to gambling, but it is to say that in today’s world, there’s never been an incident that a person has gone ‘cold turkey’ from gambling and inevitably died as a consequence of that decision. The same cannot be said for alcohol or drug dependency.

Rather than quote statistics, the writer has chosen to challenge all readers to look up addiction information on their own and pay close attention to the statistics. It’s changing all the time, but the percentage of problem gamblers is so low that it’s quite embarrassing that any lawmaker would even mention it. Gambling addictions, by the way, include all forms of gambling and not just sports betting.

Choose Your Path: Gambler or Skilled Bettor?

Seasoned sports bettors acknowledge that betting on sports is a form of entertainment and can bring hours of enjoyment to those who are willing to budget for it. In the end, one must decide if they’re a gambler or a skilled player.

On one hand, gambling can be a willing little mistress that you’ve invited into your home to cause trouble. On the other, it can be a great avenue for a little extra cash or pure entertainment. Either way, wagering online is here to stay. Online sportsbooks and brick-and-mortar casinos are eager to earn your business. Be smart. Make a decision before you place the first bet.

Are you a winner who controls his or her outcome or are you a gambler who is controlled by every bet you place? It doesn’t take long to figure out which lane is yours. The key is to handle your bets by managing your money.

With online sports betting, you’ll always know what you’re spending and winning. And sure, okay, sometimes you’ll lose, but even then you’ll have a record of it. That’s the advantage of online gambling.

Maybe Tennessee lawmakers knew what they were doing all along.