A TN Sports betting bill, which would prevent sports betting from accepting bets from payday loan customers, was deemed a little too broad.
Representative Darren Jernigan‘s HB 824 was returned to the clerk last week and Senator Richard Briggs backed up SB1029 Wednesday Night, effectively ending the chances of the proposal in 2021.
The bill focused on preventing anyone with a high interest loan from getting through Financial advance payment around the clock from betting with the company’s sister company, Action around the clock.
Action 24/7 received approval in January to take cash deposits for sports betting customers at its Advance Financial locations across the state. Jernigan and Briggs wanted to prevent two things:
- Borrowing cash from a high-interest loan and using it to fund a. use TN sports betting Account.
- Allowing loan customers to open a sports betting account in the hopes of paying off loans through gambling.
Action 24/7 lawyers fought against TN sports betting law
Action 24/7 lawyers have been working overtime lately.
Along with winning an injunction for action 24/7 to end his temporary suspension and make sure Tennessee Education Lottery does not exceed the jurisdiction of the court on this subject they also campaigned against this draft law.
Action attorneys told Briggs in a meeting earlier this week that it was also possible for some of the payment providers affiliated with other sports betting in Tennessee to lend money.
“Advance Financial denied doing anything else, or actually claimed less than the other online gambling sites,” said Briggs.
How many crossovers are there?
Advance Financial didn’t answer questions about how many of its loan customers also bet with Action 24/7. One of these credit customers reported his betting winnings to Jernigan were held to pay off a loan. The client eventually decided against making a statement and Advance Financial denied that it ever happened.
Action 24/7 regularly promotes its ability to accept cash deposits. That sounds good on the surface, but not when the money is loaned out at high interest rates, VP of US Policy and Strategic Development for EPIC Risk Management Brianne Doura-Schawohl said:
“It is neither better nor safer to play with cash, which earns extremely high interest, with money that is otherwise supposed to serve the basic needs. Any suggestion that gambling is a way of paying back a loan, making money, or solving financial problems is predatory. “
Does the sports betting advisor play a bigger role?
A bill on sports betting has made it Senate Committee for State and Local Administration Wednesday.
SB 588 is sponsored by Senator Ed Jacksoneven though Jackson said the bill came from Lt. Gov. Randy McNally. The bill would die Advisory Committee on Sports Betting some real power.
SB 588, as amended, gives the committee the oversight to take disciplinary action against sports betting in the state. The committee could meet alone without the lottery board and make decisions about sports betting.
The bill was presented to the entire Senate by a full 9-0 votealthough Briggs – the chairman of the Senate committee – isn’t sure the change is enough:
“I know there have been some questions on the Lottery Board about the best structure, and there are some members who feel it didn’t work out really well. I support this amendment, but I think that at some point in the future we may have to consider a different structure for our approach because there have been problems.
“We’re new to sports gambling, but there just seems to have been issues going in different directions and we may need to have a different structure to look into.”
