Action 24/7 Can Temporarily Take Bets Again in Tennessee

As of March 26th, Action 24/7’s licenses for sports betting have been temporarily restored by a judge. According to a tweet by Tina Hodges, the CEO of Action 24/7, the court claimed: “… that Action247 has a likelihood of success on the merits that the action of the TEL[Tennessee Education Lottery] Board was erroneous or arbitrary and capricious under the Act and the Rules.”

This is massive news as this hurts the Tennessee Lottery’s ability to regulate the state and damages the power that it currently holds. This will not be the end of the current saga, nor is this most likely the end of the current legal case between the two.

What Happened?

Action 24/7 has been in the news for the past two months as the smallest sportsbook in the Tennessee market has been in a standoff with the Tennessee Education Lottery. Originally Action 24/7 had been investigated for deposits that it took around the time of the Super Bowl; these despots were suspected to be fraudulent, and Action 24/7 eventually identified them and took action.

The Tennessee Education Lottery, which is the overseeing regulatory body for sports betting in the Volunteer State, then started its investigation claiming that Action 24/7 did not act fast enough. In March, the Lottery then determined that Action 24/7’s licenses would be suspended as the investigation continues.

Following the suspension Action, 24/7 claimed that it did take the rightful action and did not do anything wrong. They proceeded with a legal route in an attempt to get their sports betting license restored and were successful.

A Win For Action 24/7

This is big news for Action 24/7 as getting bets flowing again is obviously a big deal for the sportsbook. It needs to continue to collect wagers to bring in revenue. However, it is also attempting to keep its reputation intact as it does not want this back-and-forth to deter bettors from using its platform. Action 24/7 is going to continue to work with the investigation as the investigation has not concluded, but it will be able to take bets while doing so.

A Much Bigger Loss for The Tennessee Education Lottery

I would argue that this ruling hurts the Tennessee Education Lottery more than it even helps Action 24/7. This is because it is a major blow to the implied powers and control that it has as a regulatory body. It is also not a good look to have a judge come down on a ruling like this.

In the future, the Tennessee Education Lottery will either need to redefine the rules it has written with the help of Congress or approach the investigation and punishment differently. It will be very interesting to see if lawmakers step in and either expand the Lottery’s ability to regulate or rewrite some of the existing rules to make it more clear what sportsbooks can and cannot do.