Tennessee Regulator Fines Operators over Payout and Self-Exclusion Breaches

The Tennessee Sports Wagering Council (SWC) has agreed to levy fines against sportsbooks that violated its rules. These included ZenSports, which failed to pay out winnings and Fanatics, which committed a self-exclusion-related breach.

According to the announcement, the SWC understood that ZenSports did not maintain a sufficient reserve account balance for its operation. Under Tennessee’s regulations, however, operators must always be ready to cover outstanding obligations.

The SWC noted that ZenSports’ reserve account was insufficient to cover its obligations on three separate occasions in December 2023.

As a result, the regulator approved a $60,000 fine against the operator. A spokesperson elaborated:

Licensees also shall maintain a reserve in the form of cash, cash equivalents, irrevocable letter of credit, in addition to the above-referenced bond, of not less than the amount necessary to ensure the ability to cover the outstanding liability related to the patron accounts.

SWC spokesperson

The authority added that ZenSports has since taken measures to maintain an adequate balance.

Fanatics Allowed Self-Excluded Players to Bet

In the meantime, the SWC also handed a fine to Fanatics over a self-reported violation. The leading sportsbook reported experiencing a technical issue that resulted in self-excluded persons being able to bet.

This shortcoming allowed eight self-excluded accounts to place bets and, as a result, the SWC decided to levy 8 fines of $6,250 for a total of $50,000.

The violations came amid the transfer of PointsBet’s operations to Fanatics. The former operator’s self-exclusion list was eventually integrated into Fanatics’ own 20-state self-exclusion list. Despite that, a coding error reactivated several accounts.

Of the eight accounts, six placed bets. However, Fanatics eventually refunded any losses they had accumulated.

Speaking of self-exclusion, East Tennessee State University’s gambling clinic recently reported an increase in the number of young men and women visiting the clinic. The organization expressed concern about the outbreak of harmed youngsters.

Earlier data suggested that there are approximately 200,000 at-risk people in the state, as well as 100,000 suffering from gambling-related disorders. For context, the Volunteer State has a population of 7 million people.