Tennessee Legalizes Online Sports Gambling

Earlier today Tennessee legalized online sports gambling by voting in the state Senate and the state House to permit sports gambling inside the state's borders. The Governor then announced he wouldn't sign the bill, but that he wouldn't veto it either, meaning in ten days the bill will become law and the state of Tennessee will officially become the first state in the nation to allow online sports gambling only. (It will take several months for the first bet to be allowed, but the process will be in motion very soon).

This is absolutely phenomenal in all respects.

I am blown away by how smart the state legislature was to make this happen. In passing this bill the legislature was bipartisan, intelligent, and forward thinking, three traits that all too often don't characterize our existing politics. Eventually I believe all states are going to realize that the only way to legalize sports gambling is to allow all citizens across the country, no matter the state, to wager from their phones, but in the meantime many states will make mistakes and focus on bricks and mortar casino legalization only. (I'm looking at you Mississippi).

So far even when states have both online and bricks and mortar sports gambling roughly 80% of the wagers are placed online.

The truth of the matter is this, everyone in this country wants to be able to legally bet from their phones on sports and I believe they should all be able to do so.

I expect that Tennessee's bill will become a model for many other states in the nation. Especially since Tennessee borders eight states -- yes, you'll be able to legally drive across the state line and place your bets if you live in a border state -- many of whose residents will also want to bet on sports, but won't be able to do so in their own states.

This also means that any of you coming into the state for sporting events or trips -- even bachelorette parties! -- will be able to sign up and wager on sports while you're visiting the state.

Can you imagine the fun we can have with the new sports bar downtown?!

As for me, I feel like I just won the lottery.

This is unbelievable for me personally and for the options it will open up for Outkick.

I'm now exploring getting my own gambling license in Tennessee and flipping this site into an online sports book for those of you who visit from inside the state. (Don't worry, I'd still write the same articles, but you'd also be able to place bets here too.)

I'm so excited by this opportunity I can barely type right now.

I mean, what were the odds on this parlay all happening in the same year?

I start work on the most popular sports gambling national TV show in the country, we open a brand new sports bar in downtown Nashville, and now the state of Tennessee becomes the first state to allow online only sports gambling.

Toss in the fact that your boy has by far the biggest sports audience in the state of Tennessee and that I've never sold a single bit of Outkick -- I retain 100% equity even after grinding away on this site for eight years -- and you're talking about the potential for an absolute gold mine.

What would the odds of all this happening have been eight years ago when I started Outkick?

A thousand to one? Ten thousand to one? Higher?

And how about 15 years ago when I started writing online for free while practicing law?

A million to one?

I mean, it's just incredible.

This is why we started collecting tens of thousands of emails by playing free gambling games several years ago, for this exact time. I just never anticipated Tennessee would be leading the charge in online sports gambling.

So now I've got to decide what to do and somehow avoid screwing this opportunity up -- remember, you're reading the guy who managed to lose $50k selling pants.

Do I start my own sports book here in the state and swing for the fences on eventually expanding to other states as well? Do I focus on just dominating in Tennessee? Do I sell the site for a ton of money and go all in with a gambling company that's already nationwide?

The options are tremendous.

In the meantime, your boy is headed to London tomorrow to celebrate his 40th birthday.

As long as the plane doesn't crash, I plan to return on Sunday and focus on getting richer, much, much richer.

In closing, Thank God I was born in Tennessee and god bless America. (And didn't move even when other people said I should move to advance my career).

Don't tell my wife, but we may have to buy a better beach house now. (I also want to get a lake house in northern Michigan too. Because, let's be honest, it can get hot on the beach in Florida during the summer.)