Tennesee Sweepstakes Casino Online: How Does TN Sweepstakes Laws Work & Is It Legal To Play Real Money Online Casino in TN?

Is it legal to play at online casinos in Tennessee?

As per the legal code of Tennessee, online casinos are not legal in the state and anyone engaging in gambling or promoting gambling will be penalized. If you read the Tennessee Code § 39-17-501, which lays out the definitions of gambling and its general policy in the state, you will find the following:

“Gambling is contrary to the public policy of this state and means risking anything of value for a profit whose return is to any degree contingent on chance, or any games of chance associated with casinos, including, but not limited to, slot machines, roulette wheels and the like. For the purposes of this chapter gambling does not include: 

1. A lawful business transaction;
2. Annual events operated for the benefit of nonprofit organizations that are authorized pursuant to a two-thirds (2/3) approval of the general assembly, so long as such events are not prohibited by the state constitution;
3. A state lottery of the type in operation in Georgia, Kentucky, and Virginia in 2000 and authorized by amendment to the Constitution of Tennessee, if the lottery is approved by the general assembly;
4. A fantasy sports contest as defined in § 47-18-1602 and conducted in accordance with the Fantasy Sports Act, compiled in title 47, chapter 18, part 16;
5. Lawfully accepting or placing a wager on a sporting event in accordance with the Tennessee Sports Gaming Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 51, part 3; or
6. A low-level sports entertainment pool;”

As you can see, the law clearly distinguishes the state lottery and legal sports betting from all other forms of commercial gambling. Any type of casino gambling, either online or in a physical casino, is illegal in Tennessee. So if you had hopes of playing at a real money online casino in Tennessee with no deposit, now would be a good time to face the truth.

However, not all is lost, since some forms of gambling are legal in the state. Let’s look at what those are.

Which forms of gambling are allowed in Tennessee?

In 2019, Tennessee surprised much of America by becoming one of the first states to legalize online sports betting.

Sportsbooks needed to secure authorization and a valid license to offer sports betting in the state and they did so before going live in November 2020. At the time of writing, there are 12 authorized online sportsbooks in Tennessee. Here are some of the other forms of legalized activities in the state:

• State lottery—legalized in 2004 with the beginning of the Tennessee Education Lottery, proceeds from which fund education programs and scholarships
• Online sports betting
• Sweepstakes casinos
• Charitable organizations hosting bingo or raffles

Out of the lot of them, sweepstakes casinos in Tennessee offer the closest experience to online casinos without actually being the same thing.

Is it legal to play at sweepstakes casinos in Tennessee?

Tennessee sweepstakes casinos are having a bit of a moment, precisely because online casinos are not allowed in the state. Sweepstakes casinos are different from gambling since they contain an element of prize and skill. Additionally, you don’t have to deposit anything or pay money to access the sweepstakes casinos in Tennessee.

According to the sweepstakes laws in Tennessee, there are two things that a sweepstakes should have to be considered legal in the state:

• An element of skill: For sweepstakes to be considered legal in Tennessee, their games need to have an element of skill.
• A prize: Alongside having an element of chance, they also need to have a prize that has to be disclosed to Tennessee participants in advance.

Tennessee sweepstakes casino laws and rules are very clear on the fact that "risking anything of value for a profit whose return is to any degree contingent on chance” is gambling and therefore illegal. By mixing an element of skill and not making prizes contingent on payment, online sweepstakes casinos operate in a legal gray area and are not considered gambling.

Do sweepstakes casinos operating in the state of Tennessee need to be licensed?

As I mentioned right at the start, you won’t find real money online casinos in Tennessee with no-deposit bonuses, but you will find plenty of Tennessee sweepstakes casinos with fantastic bonuses.

What explains the rapid and growing rise in popularity of sweepstakes casinos in Tennessee is the fact that there are simply too many of them online, offering a fun range of casino games and bonuses. The reason so many of them have popped up so quickly is that they don’t need a license or authorization from the government to run shops.

Sports betting, which is a heavily regulated industry, offers a stark contrast where only 12 sportsbooks have the license to operate in the state. All internet casinos offering sweepstakes games in Tennessee can operate freely as long as they are not offering any activities that would be classified as gambling.

How do you identify which sweepstakes casinos are legit?

Since there are no strict licensing requirements for Tennessee sweepstakes casinos, you will need to be extra careful when trying to determine whether or not a sweepstakes casino is legitimate and can be trusted. There are several sketchy sites on the internet and you should be careful about where you sign up and who you give access to your data.

Here are a few easy ways to spot sweepstakes casinos that are legitimate:

Running a quick background always helps so be sure to always do so before signing up for a new Tennessee sweepstakes casino.

What potential future updates on online casinos in Tennessee can the people expect?

The future of online casinos and general gambling legalization looks murky in Tennessee but here’s what I can say based on what has happened so far:

• The focus is on sports betting in Tennessee:  Sports betting was legalized in Tennessee in 2019 with the consent of Governor Bill Lee to make SB 0016 into law but without his signature. According to the bill, the Tennessee Lottery is responsible for overseeing sports betting in the state. There hasn’t been much movement on the online casino front ever since sports betting was legalized. It very much feels like the state has already broken its conservative policy on gambling by legalizing sports betting and lawmakers don’t want to ruffle any feathers by making online casinos legal in the state.

Given what we know about the history of gambling in Tennessee and the general unwillingness of lawmakers to legalize activities that would be classified as immoral or against religious values, it is highly unlikely that online casinos will be legalized in the state anytime soon.

No-deposit bonus playthrough requirements in Tennessee

Sweepstakes casinos are the ideal place to find no-deposit bonuses in Tennessee. However, you must know that most of these no-deposit bonuses come with playthrough requirements. What do we mean by that?

Take the case of High 5 Casino, where there is a no-deposit welcome bonus of 5 free SC, along with 250 Game Coins and 600 Diamonds. If you want to redeem the SC for any tangible prizes, such as gift cards or cash prizes, you will need to play them through once before they are eligible for redemption. Additionally, you will need a minimum amount of SC that varies from one sweepstakes casino to another to request any prize redemption.

Below, I have put together a list of the best no-deposit bonuses for Tennessee sweepstakes, alongside their playthrough requirements.