(The Center Square) — Tennessee collected $8.2 million in taxes on $445.2 million of gross wagers in October, an increase in both categories from a year before.
In October 2022, $7 million was collected on $405 million of gross wagers.
That’s a change from September, when the state collected $1 million less in taxes compared to a year before despite an increase in bets from $420 million in gross wagers in September compared to $337 million in gross wagers in September 2022.
Tennessee levies a 1.85% tax on gross handle, which replaced a 20% tax on adjusted gross income that was in place until July.
Last week, the state’s Sports Wagering Council presented privilege tax estimates to Tennessee’s State Funding Board that showed a projected dip in this fiscal year’s tax collections. Tennessee collected $82.1 million in privilege tax on mobile sports wagers last fiscal year with $78.8 million projected this fiscal year and projections of $82.7 million next fiscal year before reaching a projected $86.9 million in taxes next year.
Tennessee sends 80% of its sports wagering taxes to the Lottery for Education Fund to pay for things such as the Hope Scholarship while 15% goes to the general fund of local governments and 5% goes to the state’s Department of Mental Health.
That means $37.1 million went to the Lottery for Education fund in 2021-22, $65.7 million in 2022-23, $63 million projected for 2023-24, $66.2 million projected in 2024-25 and $69.5 million projected in 2025-26.
