As anticipated by PlayUSA.com Network, sportsbooks in Tennessee reported a decline in betting handles in February. The decline is directly related to the ending of the NFL season.

Super Bowls end-of-season slows sportsbooks

PlayTenn, an organization that monitors Tennessee gambling markets, the volumes in sports betting will drop in the month of February.

As PlayTenn’s lead Analyst, Alec Cunningham, shares, “The Super Bowl is an important singular event, but it can’t fully replace a month filled with football games like January. For that reason, February is always a slower month.”

Declining February wagers

In the month of February, Tennessee sportsbooks wagers were $313m. This was 19% less than the overall total earned in January by $73million. However, a year-on-year comparison showed a total growth of 78% or a $137m generation sum.

In the bets that were placed at the Super Bowl, the total was $23m, which is $15m higher than the year before. For the whole month, the wages earned were total revenue of $21m, showing an increase of $8m or 61% over last year’s February earnings.

‘Lockout’ in baseball

Another issue that troubled sportsbooks are ‘lockout’ in baseball. The complete shutdown of the league, especially in the case of MLB, is due to the expiration of the general bargaining agreement. The collective bargaining agreement controls player contracts, sponsorship agreements, and financial decisions.

A recent lockout session was played out in the MLB, which is the largest baseball league. However, with the commencement of the games across the US, sportsbooks revived their operations.

As an analyst, Eric Ramsay pointed out, the baseball games’ return is a breath of relief to the sportsbook as the full schedule of games will keep the primary bet operators busy.

March Madness

Tennessee’s state sportsbooks will reopen towards March as the Madness returns for a new season of challenges and wagering records commences.

As Cunningham concludes, “the lull doesn’t last long. March Madness should help the state’s sportsbooks challenge wagering records again, especially if Tennessee can make a deep run.”