Introduction to Tennessee Slot Machine Casino Gambling 2018
Tennessee slot machine casino gambling does not exist. There are no commercial casinos or racetracks in Tennessee.
Furthermore, there are no federally-recognized American Indian tribes in Tennessee. Therefore, there are also no tribal casinos.
This post continues the weekly blog series “Slot Machine Casino Gambling, State-By-State“, a year-long online resource project dedicated to guiding slot machine gambling enthusiasts to success.
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Relevant Legal Statutes on Gambling in Tennessee*
The minimum legal age for casino gambling in Tennessee is not available. It is 18 for pari-mutual wagering and the lottery.
The Tennessee Constitution prohibits the legislature from authorizing games of chance associated with casinos, including, but not limited to, slot machines, roulette wheels and the like.
No exceptions are made in state law that would allow a federally recognized American Indian tribe to conduct games of chance associated with casinos.
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), a federal law, reflects Congress’ intent to control Indian gaming exclusively, with any state regulation thereof only taking place within IGRA’s regulatory framework.
Further, Congress provided in IGRA that “Indian tribes have the exclusive right to regulate gaming activity on Indian lands if the gaming activity is not specifically prohibited by Federal law and is conducted within a State which does not, as a matter of criminal law and public policy, prohibit such gaming activity.” 25 U.S.C. § 2701(5).
With all that being said, it is also a requirement that any tribe participating in the IGRA must be a federally-recognized American Indian tribe. But, Tennessee has no such federally-recognized tribe.
Because the state constitution prohibits games of chance and also because the state has no federally-recognized tribes, Tennessee has no tribal casinos.
*The purpose of this section is to inform the public of state gambling laws and how the laws apply to various forms of gambling. This information is not intended to provide legal advice.
Slot Machine Private Ownership in Tennessee
It is not legal to privately own a slot machine in the state of Tennessee.
Gaming Control Board in Tennessee
Tennessee has established a state agency for charitable gaming under its Secretary of State, officially called Division of Charitable Solicitations. The Tennessee Nonprofit Gaming Law allows eligible organizations to hold a single, annual “games of chance” fundraising event.
To conduct it, the organization must file an application with the Secretary of State, pay a non-refundable fee, and received authorization of the Tennessee General Assembly. Applications requires a two-thirds vote of approval by the General Assembly.
This one “games of chance” fundraising event per qualified organization can only occur once between July 1 and June 30 of the following year. Many other relatively minor legal restrictions also apply, as comprehensively explained on the Tennessee’s Charitable Gaming FAQs webpage.
Tennessee also has a state lottery. officially called the Tennessee Education Lottery (TEL). The TEL was approved by voters in late 2002, and beginning to sell tickets in early 2004. Since then, it has raised more than $4 billion for education programs up to and including two-year college institutions.
Casinos in Tennessee
There are no casinos in the great U.S. state of Tennessee. However, it’s neighboring states of Mississippi and Missouri have a significant amount of slot machine casino gambling options available.
Tennessee shares a border with 7 other U.S. states. For all the details on available options for slot machine casino gambling within each of Tennessee’s neighboring states, click on the links provided below to visit my state-by-state articles for each of them:
- Alabama Slots;
- Arkansas Slots;
- Georgia Slots;
- Mississippi Slots;
- Missouri Slots;
- North Carolina Slots; and
- Virginia Slots.
Summary of Tennessee Slot Machine Casino Gambling 2018
Tennessee slot machine casino gambling does not exist. There are no commercial casinos, racetracks, or tribal casinos. Legally restrictive charitable gaming exists for qualified organizations.
Tennessee also has a state lottery, which has so far provided $4 billion to fund educational programs up through two-year college institutions
However, a few of Tennessee’s seven neighboring states offer extensive slot machine casino gambling options, especially in the states of Mississippi and Missouri.
Professor Slots Video on Tennessee Slot Machine Casino Gambling 2018
Other State-By-State Articles from Professor Slots
- Series: Online Resource: State-By-State Slots Gambling Summaries – Now in its second year, this series is an online resource dedicated to slot machine casino gambling enthusiasts. It provides 56 weekly, detailed gambling summarizes covering each U.S. state, territory, and the federal district to capture dynamic changes occurring of late in the U.S. gaming/gambling industry specific to slots play.
- Previous: South Dakota Slot Machine Casino Gambling 2018 – South Dakota slot machine casino gambling consists of twenty-seven frontier-like casinos within historic Deadwood as well as eleven American Indian tribal casinos. The South Dakota Commission on Gaming offers actual payout return statistics for casinos located in Deadwood, but none are available for the tribal casinos.
- Next: Texas Slot Machine Casino Gambling 2018 – Texas slot machine casino gambling consists of 2 tribal casinos and a gambling boat sailing out of Galveston. The largest casino is at the Mexican border near San Antonio, with the second closer to Houston. Both casinos only offer electronic games of bingo, not traditional slots. Six racetracks have no gaming machines.